Release International

Three organisations serving the persecuted church are launching a petition to the Eritrean government to free Christians locked up for their faith. The prisoners include believers who have been shut up in shipping containers just for praying and reading their Bibles.

A spokesman for Release International said:

'Imagine being crammed into a steel shipping container without light or sanitation. Now imagine being slowly roasted in the searing heat of the African desert. Roasted by day, frozen by night as temperatures plummet. These containers are sweltering sewers. Prisoners say they have fainted because of the stench and the stifling heat. They just can't breathe. It's beyond our imagination. But for some Christians in Eritrea it's reality. We must stand with them and speak up for them.'

Their plight is highlighted in the latest edition of Release International's Witness magazine following a fact-finding visit to the region. The petition is supported by Release International, CSW, and Open Doors and will be handed to the Eritrean Ambassador in London. It can be downloaded from www.releaseinternational.org/resources

Up to 1,800 Christians are now in prison for their faith, following a decree in 2002 outlawing all Christian activity outside of the Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran or Catholic churches. Release International carried out a recent fact-finding visit to the region. Prisoners include Christians conscripted for military service who are being locked up for praying or reading Bibles. Some have been shut away in shipping containers in the desert.

Release International spoke to ex-prisoners who are now refugees in Ethiopia. They include Mogus, who said: 'Because the government is against Christianity they put a lot of Christians in prison. When I first came to the army they explained you are not allowed to be a Christian and to read a Bible. You have to hand over all your books. If you break that instruction they put you in prison for months.'

He added: 'For the military police it is a normal thing to beat a Christian, to take him into prison. They beat us with sticks, with their legs. You cannot describe what they do. Still, it is joyful to be put in prison because of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is not allowed, but sometimes we could quietly sing our songs. My main prayer is that God's will be done in our land, Eritrea.'

Benjamin was sent to a military base on National Service. 'Many times I suffered because of my faith.' He said informants were always watching and waiting. 'If they catch us reading or praying or encouraging other Christians they take us to prison. They try to make us deny our faith; they beat us with sticks and punish us by forcing us to dig in the sun without water or rest. At midday you cannot resist the heat. It is really hard. But I believe in Christ and I told them, "I am not stopping my faith."'

Tesfoam was kept in an underground prison for two years with no windows. 'There were a hundred of us inside with no facilities and not enough water or food. They gave us bread twice a day. There were other Christians in the underground prison, but there is no freedom to talk or meet. That is prohibited.'

Fantu's husband was arrested for preaching. He's been in jail for 18 months. 'The last time I heard his voice was before he was imprisoned. At first I told my three children he was away and couldn't call. But eventually I had to tell them the truth - that he was in prison. Please pray that my husband is released and that we can be a family again. I need my husband and my three young children need their father.'

Even children are targeted by the authorities. Last year 131 children aged between two and 18 were rounded up and taken to a police station for questioning. To bolster their courage they sang a Christian song. The police responded by beating them and shipping everyone over the age of 15 to another police station where they were detained.

A spokesman for Release International added: 'The Christians who had been in prison described suffering appalling abuse - just for praying and reading their Bible. Yet for all the cruelty they've endured, there is no anger or bitterness in their hearts. They show true Christian forgiveness and just long for the day they can return to Eritrea.'

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