Metkel
wrote:
ጆሽዋ ንዓ መልስ
ሓቂ ድዩ ዋላ ሓሶት
እዚ
ዝነፍስ
እቶም በደልትኻስ
ከመይሎም እድቅሱ
ይብሉ
ትኽስ
እንታዩኸ 'ቲበደልካ
ሓቢረሙኻዶ
'ታይ
ከምዝኣበስካ
በል ብሂወት ሃሉ ኣይትሃሉ
ዓባይ ተስፋ ክህበካ
ታሓዚ
መዝግብሲ - እዝጊ እንዳኣሉ
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Journalist Fessehaye "Joshua" Yohannes has died in
detention
Reporters Without Borders
Press release
7
February 2007
ERITREA
Sources say writer and
journalist Fessehaye "Joshua" Yohannes has died in
detention
 Credible Eritrean sources in Asmara and abroad have
told Reporters Without Borders that poet and playwright
Fessehaye "Joshua" Yohannes , who was a journalist with the
now-banned weekly Setit, died in detention on 11 January.
"The death of Fessehaye Yohannes would be an appalling
tragedy, one made all the more unbearable by the accommodating
attitude of European governments towards Eritrea." Reporters
Without Borders said. "This regi me cannot be treated in a
normal way as it is responsible for the disappearance and
imprisonment of the best of its citizens. Firm demands are now
needed."
The press freedom organisation added: "The
Eritrean government must prove to us that Joshua did not die
or, at the very least, it should hand over his body to his
wife and two sons. It should prove to us that journalists
Medhane Haile, Said Abdelkader and Yusuf Mohamed Ali are still
alive, contrary to the reports we have received of their
deaths. And it should tell us where it has imprisoned the
journalists who are being held incommunicado, and explain the
crimes it has committed with complete impunity since 2001."
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 in September 2001. After being held at an Asmara
police station and an underground prison and after spells in
the Halibet and Sembel hospitals in Asmara, he was reportedly
taken to a prison camp at Eiraeiro, in the Northern Red Sea
desert province. According to the information received by
Reporters Without Borders, he was being held in cell No. 18 of
this camp, where at least 62 political prisoners are being
held in complete isolation and in inhumane conditions, guarded
by about 100 soldiers of the 32nd division.
From
police station to prison camp
Fessehaye surrendered to
the police during the week of 18-23 September 2001, after
around 10 other journalists and many members of the political
opposition had been arbitrarily arrested and the
privately-owned press had been "suspended" by the authorities.
Ten detained journalists were transferred to undisclosed
locations in April 2002, after going on hunger strike to
demand the right to appear in court.
Their hands
permanently manacled, the detainees at Eiraeiro are just given
just bread, lentils, spinach or potatoes to eat. Their hair
and beards are shaved once a month. All they have for beds are
just two sheets. They sleep on the ground. Any contact with
other prisoners or with guards is absolutely forbidden.
On the basis of information from credible sources,
Reporters Without Borders reported last November that 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 , the editor of the
weekly Tsigenay, were among the nine prisoners who had died in
this prison camp in the course of 2005 and 2006. The officer
in charge of the Eiraeiro camp is Lt. Col. Isaac "Wedi Hakim"
Araia, the former commander of the 29th division's 2nd
brigade, who replaced Maj. Gen. Gerezghiher "Wuchu"
Andemariam.
Fessehaye was initially held at the Asmara
No. 1 police station following his arrest. He was moved to an
underground prison at Dongolo in April 2002 after taking part
in the hunger strike to demand the right to be tried. A former
political prisoner held there at the same time told Reporters
Without Border: "Dongolo is a prison with cells that measure
1.5 metres by 1.5 metres, and 2.5 metres tall. They are lit by
a bulb that is never turned off. The prisoners are chained to
the wall by their feet. Their wrists are manacled. The harm
done to the prisoners' health by these conditions is
indescribable. Insects buzz around the bulb in the ceiling."
Already weakened by his hunger strike, Fessehaye was
interrogated harshly by Col. Gaim Tesfemichael and Col. Simon
Ghebregindil, the source said. His fingernails were ripped
out.
Born on 19 September 1958, Fessehaye was married
and had two sons, now aged five and six. A veteran of the
independence war against Ethiopia, he was a leading figure in
political and media circles. He led a dance and theatre
troupe. He had a career as a poet and playwright. And he
helped found Setit, which was Eritrea's most popular weekly
until the September 2001 crackdown on the media.
European favours and Legion of Honour
After
being the target of sharp criticism from the international
community, Eritrea seems to be respectable again, given its
involvement in several regional crises, including the Somali
one. France has played a key role in the normalisation of its
relations with the European Union. Brigitte Girardin, the
acting French minister for cooperation and development, made
an official visit to Eritrea on 23 September 2006. It was "the
first visit by a minister since independence," according to
the French foreign ministry. There was no public mention of
the detainees.
Eritrea's former ambassador to France,
Hanna Simon, received the Order of Knights of the Legion of
Honour in a ceremony staged by the French embassy in Asmara
last December. The French foreign ministry told Reporters
Without Borders it was above all in recognition for "her
commitment to the cause of women." European development
commissioner Louis Michel made an official visit to Eritrea on
1 February without publicly referring to the issue of the
detainees.
The former colonial power in the Horn of
Africa, Italy also maintains special links with the Eritrean
government. Prime Minister Romano Prodi received Eritrean
President Issaias Afeworki during a private visit to Italy on
4 December. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi invited
President Issaias on several occasions to spend a few days of
vacation at his villa in Sardinia.
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ጆሽዋ ንዓ መልስ
ሓቂ ድዩ ዋላ ሓሶት
እዚ ዝነፍስ
እቶም በደልትኻስ
ከመይሎም እድቅሱ
ይብሉ ትኽስ
እንታዩኸ 'ቲበደልካ
ሓቢረሙኻዶ
'ታይ ከምዝኣበስካ
በል ብሂወት ሃሉ ኣይትሃሉ
ዓባይ ተስፋ ክህበካ
ታሓዚ መዝግብሲ - እዝጊ እንዳኣሉ