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Intellectual Repression: Another Eritrea journalist killed in
Prison
Fessehaye "Joshua" Yohannes: Succumbed to extremely harsh prison
conditions.
© afrol News / Amnesty Canada
afrol News, 14 February, 2007
Prominent Eritrean journalist, playwright and poet Fessehaye "Joshua"
Yohannes reported died as consequence of harsh prison conditions one
month ago. He is the fourth journalist to die in the inhumane secret
prisons of Eritrea since a group of around 12 reporters and editors were
arrested in September 2001. None of them have ever been charged or seen
a lawyer, and the ones that have not died remain in jail.
According to information confirmed by the World Association of
Newspapers (WAN) and the World Editors Forum (WEF), "Joshua" Fessehaye
died in detention on 11 January. Mr Fessehaye was a journalist with the
now-banned weekly 'Setit' newspaper until he was detained in September
2001 in a major crackdown on Eritrea's remaining independent press.
Mr Fessehaye was paralysed in one hand and had been walking with
difficulty for years. "He reportedly succumbed to the extremely harsh
conditions in which he had been held since his arrest," WAN president
Gavin O'Reilly reports, referring to sources in Eritrea.
After being detained
at an Asmara police station and an underground prison in late 2001, and
after spells in the Halibet and Sembel hospitals in Asmara, Mr Fessehaye
was reportedly taken to a prison camp at Eiraeiro, in the Northern Red
Sea desert province, where at least 62 political prisoners are allegedly being held. The existence of the Eiraeiro prison
was only made known late last year, following the death of several
political prisoners. Conditions inside the Eiraeiro prison are
reportedly inhumane, with prisoners permanently manacled, forbidden from
communicating with each other or guards and given only the most basic
food. According to some reports, Mr Fessehaye's fingernails had been
ripped out. Nine prisoners reportedly have died in the secret Eiraeiro
prison camp during 2005 and 2006. These include three editors – Said
Abdulkader, co-founder and editor of the weekly 'Admas', Medhanie Haile,
co-founder and deputy editor of the weekly 'Keste Debena', and Yusuf
Mohamed Ali, editor of the weekly 'Tsigenay'. All these independent
newspapers have been banned since September 2001.
The information on Mr Fessehaye's violent death has only now escaped
from the sealed-off country - often seen as contemporary Africa's worst
dictatorship - through dissident channels. In line with the normal
Eritrean state secrecy when it comes to political prisoners, Mr
Fessehaye's family has not heard anything about his whereabouts since
2001. They have not been advised on his death from official sources.
Equally, the dead bodies of editors Abdulkader, Haile and Ali have not
been released to their families yet, although their deaths occurred more
than a year ago. Neither have their families been informed of their
whereabouts or death.
In a public letter sent today by WAN president O'Reilly and WEF
president George Brock to Eritrean dictator Issayas Afewerki, the two
organisations expressed their "outrage" about the death of Mr Fessehaye.
WAN, which groups 18,000 newspapers around the world, urged President
Afewerki "to ensure that in future your country fully respects
international standards of freedom of expression and that it ends the
abusive treatment of those held in detention."Also the media watchdog
groups Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters sans
Frontières (RSF) today confirmed to have "received reports from Eritrean
sources" about the death of Mr Fessehaye. According to RSF's sources,
the journalist had died in prison in January this year.
CPJ however has other sources on Fessehaye's violent death. The New
York-based group cites a separate report from exiled opposition party
leader Adhanom Gebremariam alleging that Mr Fessehaye died in December
2002 in a prison in Embatkala. Mr Gebremariam, who was one of 15 ruling
party officials accused of treason after writing a June 2001 public
letter urging President Afewerki to democratise his regime, said he
received the information from sources he still has in Eritrea.
Meanwhile, the International Press Institute (IPI) says Eritrea remains
one of the world's worst countries for journalists.Harassment,
detention, threats and physical attacks are commonplace for independent
journalists still operating in the country, and most foreign media
workers have left the country.
By staff writer
© afrol News
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