Eritrean authorities released two pregnant Christian women from jail days before their expected delivery dates. The women had been incarcerated for three months, along with about 100 other Christians who were arrested in a year-end crackdown on evangelicals by Eritrea’s communist government. All Christian groups except the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches are banned in Eritrea.
The year-end purge came in response to an order by the administrator of the region. At a meeting in October 2010, Mustafa Nur Hussein ordered the extermination of all evangelical Christians from his province by the end of 2010. After the announcement, security officers in the region arrested every leader of the underground church network, along with many of their spouses. Their children were left in the care of elderly relatives.
Experts say there are at least 2,000 Christians in prison in Eritrea. Nearly every evangelical in Eritrea has been arrested at least once. Some have been in prison since 2002 without ever being charged or brought to court, and conditions in the prison are very bad. Prisoners are tortured regularly. They often suffer from malnutrition, malaria and poor hygiene. At least 16 Christians have died in custody since 2002.
