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Prisoners of Faith Alert 20 - February 2007

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 EMAIL ALERT   
for prayer & action 
    
FEBRUARY 2007 FEBRUARY 2007 FEBRUARY 2007 FEBRUARY 2007    
Through our international network of missions, Release International serves 
persecuted Christians in 30 countries around the world by supporting pastors and 
Christian prisoners, and their families; supplying Christian literature and Bibles; and 
working for justice. 
 
Please see www.releaseinternational.org  for more information. 
 
© Release International 2007  Tel: 01689 823491 
Pastor Kidane 
Gebremeskel  
Country : Eritrea 
/triangle45right Pray for the release of all Eritrean Christians 
who are imprisoned because of their loyalty to 
Christ 
 
/triangle45right Pray that those who are being tortured for their 
faith 
 will be strengthened and delivered by the 
Lord 
 
/triangle45right Pray for Pastor Gebremeskel, for his wife and 
two children that God will give them wisdom, 
faith, peace and joy 
 
‘‘ ‘‘But while Peter was in prison, the But while Peter was in prison, the But while Peter was in prison, the But while Peter was in prison, the 
church prayed very earnestly for him church prayed very earnestly for him church prayed very earnestly for him church prayed very earnestly for him ’ ’ ’ ’ 
Acts 12:5 Acts 12:5 Acts 12:5 Acts 12:5    
PLEASE PRAY  
On January 21 2005 three pastors of the Full Gospel 
Church in Asmara were arrested. Pastor Kidane 
Gebremeskel, Pastor Abraham Belay and Pastor 
Faniel Mihreteab were initially detained at the   
Wongel Mermera investigation centre in central 
Asmara. In September 2005 almost nine months after 
their initial detention Pastor Gebremeskel and Pastor 
Mihreteab were sentenced to three years and two 
years respectively  for their Christian activities at a 
court hearing conducted by a committee of military 
commanders.  It is not known if they were actually 
present at this trial. Both men  were then transferred  
to Sembel Prison, Eritrea’s largest prison on the 
outskirts of Asmara. Both of the pastors are married 
with young families. 
 
In April 2006 Pastor Abraham Belay was released. 
Abraham had been transferred to the Sawa Military 
Training Centre to do his obligatory military service. 
However, medical examiners in Sawa declared him 
to be in such bad health that he was unfit for military 
service. In an email, Abraham wrote, 
‘God has been 
faithful to me for the last fourteen months; He 
sustained me and delivered me. I count it all joy.’ 
 
We thank God for the release of Pastor Abraham, but 
ask that you continue to pray for the release of his 
two colleagues. The location and condition of these 
men together with hundreds of other Christians who 
languish in Eritrean prisons remains unclear and a 
cause for concern.  Although many have been 
incarcerated for months or even years, none have 
been charged officially or given access to judicial 
process.  
 
During the first week of 2007, police and military 
authorities jailed 68  Christians in three  seperate 
operations. These new arrests of both Protestant 
evangelicals and Orthodox renewal movement 
church members marked the Eritrean 
government’s widening crackdown against 
Christians whose faith and freedom to worship 
have now been severely restricted for almost five 
years. In one of the three operations, security 
police in the southern port city of Assab arrested 
twenty five believers from their homes, 
workplaces and schools. All twenty five prisoners 
were incarcerated at the Wi’a Military Camp and 
subjected to harsh pressures to recant their faith. 
Seven of the twenty five prisoners are women.  

 
 
Romans 12:14 ‘Bless those that persecute you’  
 
 
 
The Eritrean authorities have not officially acknowledged Pastor Kidane Gebremeskel’s detention so it is 
not possible to send greeting cards or letters to him. Instead, please send a letter to the Eritrean authorities. 
This will help ensure that the Eritrean Government is aware of the international concern about the           
imprisonment of Christians in that nation. On the advice of our partners, it is inappropriate at this time to 
write to, or to name, individuals when writing to the Eritrean authorities. In the past this has led to prisoners 
being relocated to a more isolated and a more difficult situation.  
 
 
Please do not mention  Release International, or advance your political opinion or include anything 
which could be insulting to the authorities. Please do not name individual prisoners.  
 
 
A sample letter is given below. 
 
 
Dear [title], 
 
I am deeply concerned for the nation of Eritrea at this time and in particular for the situation where more 
than 2000 Christians have been unjustly imprisoned. Where a prisoner is detained solely for the peaceful 
exercise of their right to freedom of religion, which is guaranteed in the Eritrean Constitution, I request that 
they be released unconditionally. 
 
In the interim, may I urge you to ensure that that all such prisoners are given access to their families, legal 
advice and any medical treatment required. 
 
 
Please send your letter to: 
 
 
His Excellency Isaias Afewerki 
President of the State of Eritrea 
Office of the President 
P O Box 257, Asmara, Eritrea 
Fax: + 2911 125123 
Salutation: Your Excellency 
 
 
Ms Fawzia Hashim 
Minister of Justice 
Ministry of Justice 
P O Box 241  
Asmara, Eritrea 
Salutation: Dear Minister 
 
 
Commissioner of Prisons 
Brigadier General 
Ghirmay Mehari 
Department of Penitentiary Institutions 
Ministry of Internal Affairs 
PO Box 712 
Asmara, Eritrea 
Salutation: Dear Commissioner