Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: December 16, 2023
Every Christmas, we remember that Jesus came to ‘proclaim freedom for the prisoners’ and ‘set the oppressed free’ (Luke 4:17-19).
Please pray that we would see this happen in the nation of Eritrea, where an estimated 30,000 people will spend Christmas in makeshift detention centres. The conditions are generally inhumane.
Make sure you read to the end of this email for an urgent update on Early Rain Covenant Church in China.
‘No one is safe’
Eritrea is often referred to as Africa’s North Korea, as it is one of the world’s most oppressive regimes.
In May 2002, all churches not affiliated with the Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran or Orthodox Christian traditions were forced to close.
In theory, those belonging to government-sanctioned religious communities should enjoy greater freedom. But even they experience harassment and repression at the hands of the government.
Last year for example, Catholic clergymen Bishop Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim and Father Mihretab Stefanos spent Christmas in arbitrary detention, having been arrested in October 2022.
Thankfully, they have since been released – but their experience illustrates that no one is safe in Eritrea.
Pray for hope, protection and freedom:
- For Eritrea’s prisoners of conscience. Among them are several religious leaders who have been detained for almost two decades now.
- For Christians attending Christmas gatherings – whether in secret or within one of the country’s few permitted denominations.
- For those who have been forcibly conscripted into Eritrea’s military, and those who have absconded. Military service is meant to last 18 months, but in reality is indefinite.
- For the families of those who have fled military service. They are deemed guilty by association and could be detained or made homeless.
Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC): Church members harassed and leaders detained on fifth anniversary of crackdown
Last Saturday marked five years since over 100 members of ERCC were arrested, as part of a wider crackdown on the church.
This year members and leaders faced various illegal tactics to prevent them from joining an online prayer meeting on 9 December. This included power cuts, police stationed outside their homes, door-to-door threats, and being forcibly taken to police stations.
Then on 10 December – Human Rights Day – the church confirmed that subdeacon Jia Xuewei had been placed under administrative detention for 15 days, and preacher Dai Zhichao had been criminally detained on suspicion of ‘picking quarrel and provoking trouble’.
- Please pray for their immediate and unconditional release, and for an end to the harassment of Early Rain Covenant Church.