by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Eritrean police arrested and detained 103 Christian college students at a worship event in the capital city of Asmara last month, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
News of the arrests was published by the Release International advocacy organization, which reported that the 103 Christians were taken to the notoriously harsh, overcrowded Mai Serwa prison, ICC said.
There are now over 500 Christians in prison, being held indefinitely, ICC reports. “Known as the worst governmental violator of religious freedom in Africa, Eritrea has long operated as a pariah state for its blatant disregard for human rights,” ICC said in its report. “Though it occasionally releases prisoners of conscience, it is known to keep many Christians and other religious minorities in abysmal conditions. Survivors of Eritrea’s several prison camps report the worst abuse imaginable, including severe torture and grossly inhumane living quarters.”
The situation is Eritrea has received a measure of international attention, with the European Union sanctioning the country in 2021 for its “serious human rights violations, in particular arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances of persons and torture committed by its agents.”
“Please join ICC in prayer for Christians and other prisoners of conscience suffering in Eritrea,” ICC requested in its report.
Ruled by a dictatorial, paranoid, criminal, and corrupt Islamic regime, Eritrea ranks 4th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.