Olympian and Several Eritreans Freed After 18 Years Without Facing Charges, Relatives Say
Thirteen individuals held for over 18 years without being formally charged in Eritrea have been released from a infamous military prison, according to family members of the detainees.
Among those freed were a number of prominent figures, including elderly Olympian cyclist and businessman Zeragaber Gebrehiwot.
They had been held at Mai Serwa prison, known for its harsh conditions and where many inmates are considered detained for political reasons.
Circumstances Surrounding the Arrest
A source who was previously held in Mai Serwa indicated the prisoners were taken into custody in October 2007 after an attempted assassination on a senior state security official in the government.
Around 30 people were initially detained, according to the source. A number have been freed in the intervening period, but roughly two dozen remained in custody.
The Story of an Olympian
Zeragaber raced in the Moscow Olympics in 1980 when Eritrea was a region within Ethiopia.
The mountainous country, which achieved sovereignty from Ethiopia in 1993, possesses a deep-rooted cycling culture and its cyclists have increasingly earned international recognition over the past decade.
List of Released
Those released 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 state security officer were also freed.
The Eritrean government has not issued any statement regarding the releases of the detainees.
Many of them are sick and this could explain why they have been freed now.
Families were not allowed to visit the prisoners throughout their detention, the relatives reported.
International Criticism and Detention Environment
United Nations bodies and rights organizations have long accused the Eritrean government of serious abuses, encompassing ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and the detention of many thousands of people in inhumane conditions.
Mai Serwa facility, located about 9km north-west of the capital, Asmara, has expanded over the years to incorporate 20 metal shipping containers in which prisoners are held incommunicado, sources have indicated.
Background on Government Control
For the past thirty years, Eritrea has continued to be a single-party nation with no functioning constitution. It is among the world's most militarised societies, with compulsory national service of unlimited duration.
There has been no free press since the shutdown of independent newspapers and arrest of most of their staff in 2001.
This occurred after the government arrested 15 politicians referred to as the G-15, along with 16 journalists, after they demanded that the president put into effect the proposed constitution and conduct democratic polls.
According to rights groups, the fate and whereabouts of 11 of the politicians, as well as the journalists accused of links to the G-15, are still unconfirmed.
Now 79 years old, the president recently passed 32 years in office and has still never faced an election.
