Olympic Athlete and Several Eritreans Released After 18 Years Without Facing Charges, Family Members Report
Thirteen individuals held for over 18 years without being formally charged in Eritrea have been freed from a notorious military prison, according to relatives of the detainees.
Among those freed were several well-known individuals, including elderly Olympian cyclist and entrepreneur Zeragaber Gebrehiwot.
They had been incarcerated at Mai Serwa detention center, renowned for its severe environment and where many detainees are considered political prisoners.
Circumstances Surrounding the Detention
An unnamed source who was once detained in Mai Serwa indicated the prisoners were taken into custody in October 2007 following an attempted assassination on a high-ranking state security official in the government.
Approximately thirty individuals were originally arrested, according to the source. A number have been freed over the years, but roughly two dozen remained in custody.
The Story of an Olympian
Zeragaber competed in the Moscow Games in 1980 when Eritrea was part of Ethiopia.
The nation in the Horn of Africa, which achieved sovereignty from Ethiopia in 1993, has a strong cycling culture and its riders have steadily gained international recognition over the past decade.
List of Released
The individuals freed alongside Zeragaber comprise prominent businessmen Tesfalem Mengsteab and Bekure Mebrahtu as well as the Habtemariam brothers - David, an engineer, and Matthews, a surveyor.
A half-dozen high-level police officials and an internal security agent were released as well.
The Eritrean government has remained silent regarding the releases of the detainees.
Many of them are sick and this could explain why they have been released now.
Relatives were prohibited to visit the prisoners during their incarceration, the family members reported.
Global Condemnation and Detention Environment
The UN and human rights groups have long accused the Eritrean government of serious abuses, encompassing ill-treatment, forced disappearance and the detention of many thousands of people in deplorable circumstances.
Mai Serwa facility, situated about 9km north-west of the capital, Asmara, has expanded over the years to incorporate 20 metal shipping containers in which prisoners are held without contact, according to reports.
Context of Government Control
For the past thirty years, Eritrea has continued to be a single-party nation with no active constitutional framework. It is among the world's most militarized countries, with indefinite military conscription.
There has been an absence of independent media since the shutdown of independent newspapers and detention of most of their staff in 2001.
This occurred after the government detained 15 politicians known as the G-15, along with 16 journalists, after they called for that the president implement the draft constitution and hold open elections.
According to rights groups, the fate and whereabouts of 11 of the politicians, as well as the journalists allegedly having links to the G-15, remain unknown.
Now 79 years old, the leader marked 32 years in power and has still never faced an election.
