Earlier in April, reports emerged from Eritrea that 24 Christians were released from prison. Most of the released prisoners had been detained for over two years but one of those released had been in prison for far longer – over 18 years. This prisoner’s name was not internationally known but was well-known to Eritrean Christians. During his long time of imprisonment, he was held in several different prisons in remote regions of the country.
As with previous batches of releases in November and December 2025, no official reason for the release of the Christian prisoners was given. The latest releases mean that over four hundred Christians have been released from prison in Eritrea in the past year.
Dr Berhane Asmelash, Director of Church in Chains partner organisation Release Eritrea, spoke with Church in Chains this week and welcomed the recent releases. He said, “We are happy to hear this news, which means that the number of Christians in prison in Eritrea has reduced dramatically in the past year to between 200 – 220, which is the lowest figure in the past twenty years”.
In the absence of any official government explanation, several theories have been put forward to try to explain the large number of Christians released from prison in the past year. One theory is that Christians have been released because of general prison overcrowding; another is that police and prison officers have concluded that continuing to hold Christians in prison is not serving any useful purpose; while another theory suggests that as some of the older government leaders retire or die, their younger replacements do not share the same ideological opposition to or fear of evangelical and Pentecostal Christians.
Help for released prisoners
Church in Chains has supported the work of Release Eritrea for many years as it cares for the needs of the families of Christian prisoners. Another important part of their work has been supporting released prisoners. Such support is greatly needed, particularly for those who have been in prison for many years and emerge to a totally different situation to that which existed before they were imprisoned. Many will not be able to go back to their former job and, for some, their families have left Eritrea in the meantime. Release Eritrea provides basic support to ex-prisoners in need of food, medicine and accommodation and also often provides funds to start up a small business (such as a hair salon or a grocery shop).
Recent arrests
Release Eritrea has reported that government restrictions on all types of meetings continue in Eritrea – all meetings of ten or more people require government permission or valid excuse (e.g. birthday, engagement, graduation). This restriction affects all churches that meet in private homes, i.e. all churches apart from the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
The style of worship of evangelical and Pentecostal churches can involve loud communal singing and dancing and this often leads to reports being filed by neighbours, leading to a police raid and subsequent arrests.
A church meeting in a house in Adi Keyh (110 km south of the capital Asmara) was recently raided by police and thirteen Christians were arrested. Separately, another group of Christians meeting in a home in Asmara was raided by police and thirty Christians were arrested.
No change for long-term prisoners
None of the seven Christian leaders in Eritrea who have been imprisoned for more than twenty years – Haile Naizge, Kiflu Gebremeskel, Meron Gebreselasie, Futsum Gebrenegus, Tekleab Menghisteab, Gebremedhin Gebregiorsis and Kidane Weldou – has been released. These long-term prisoners are believed to be in reasonable health.
(Release Eritrea)