Recommended

CSW Steps Up Campaign to Address Religious Intolerance in Eritrea

''The persecution of officially recognized Christian denominations indicates a serious escalation of the repression of the Church in Eritrea''

A human rights charity working on behalf of persecuted Christians has launched a new lobbying campaign on Eritrea in reaction to a new development in the government's crackdowns on Christian groups.

According to U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the chief targets of religious persecution in Eritrea, until recently, have been the unregistered Protestant groups. The Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox Churches, which were allowed to function despite the banning of all other denominations on May, 22 2002, were largely unaffected by the government's repressive line on religious activity, the agency reported.

But now CSW says the Roman Catholic Church and the 'renewal' movement in the Orthodox Church have been targeted, indicating a fresh emphasis in the government's repression of religious activity.

Get Our Latest News for FREE

Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

This month, CSW received reports that Eritrean authorities had jailed 25 members of the Roman Catholic Church during a wedding rehearsal in Asmara on Jan. 9. According to Compass News, the entire company was jailed at Asmara's Police Station No. 1.

In November 2004, CSW also reported the detention of three Orthodox priests belonging to its renewal movement, Dr Futsum Gebrenegus, Dr Tekeleab and the Rev. Gebremebhin.

"The persecution of officially recognized Christian denominations indicates a serious escalation of the repression of the Church in Eritrea,” stated Stuart Windsor, National Director of CSW. “Eritrea's denial of religious persecution in the country until now must be challenged by the international community and concrete steps taken to promote religious freedom and respect for human rights.”

Currently, CSW is raising this worrying development at the highest levels in the European Union and is urging its supporters to write to their Members of Parliament and Members of European Parliament to protest over this expansion in the scope of religious persecution in Eritrea.

Meanwhile CSW says evangelical groups have continued to experience oppression.

The latest arrests occurred on Friday Jan. 21, when three evangelical church leaders were arrested at their offices. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Was this article helpful?

Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone.

By making a recurring donation or a one-time donation of any amount, you're helping to keep CP's articles free and accessible for everyone.

We’re sorry to hear that.

Hope you’ll give us another try and check out some other articles. Return to homepage.