Aster Yohannes: Detained Despite Guarantees of Safety

Posted on: 01/08/07

"Who are these Amnesty International people? We cannot run every day after such unsubstantiated fabrications."
Government of Eritrea response to the media regarding Amnesty International’s report on religious persecution in Eritrea.

Profile

Aster Yohannes was detained in Eritrea by security personnel on December 11th, 2003 when she returned to be with her children after three years of study in the USA. She is still being detained at Karchele security prison in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. She has not been allowed to see her children, and has been denied communication with anyone from the outside world, including her family. She has not been seen or heard of since her arrest. She is at serious risk of torture and ill-treatment. Aster Yohannes is also in a poor state of health and suffers from asthma and a heart disorder.

No reason has been given for her arrest, and she has not been charged with a crime. Amnesty International believes that she is a prisoner of conscience, detained because of her husband’s peaceful expression of his political beliefs. Her husband, prisoner of conscience Petros Solomon, was the head of security and intelligence in the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) during the liberation struggle for Eritrea from Ethiopia. He was arrested with other former EPLF leaders and government ministers who had been calling for democratic reform. The government claims these individuals were “traitors” in the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia. Petros Solomon has been detained in secret and indefinite detention, without any form of outside communication since 2001. His whereabouts are still currently unknown.

Aster Yohannes joined the EPLF in 1979 as a member when she was an electrical engineering student, but was not very active politically. After the independence of Eritrea, she brought up her four children and worked as a civil servant. In January 2000 she went to study marketing at Pheonix University in Arizona with a United Nations grant. She returned voluntarily to Eritrea in 2003 to be with her children after graduating. Even though the government had guaranteed her safety, she was detained upon arrival, and remains in detention to this day.

Urgent: This casefile is now dormant until further notice. Please do not take action on Aster Yohannes' case.
- November 2007

Amnesty International’s Concerns

In Eritrea, Amnesty International estimates that there are several thousand prisoners of conscience and political prisoners who have been held indefinitely without charge or trial, many in secret detention. This has been the case particularly following a 2001 crackdown on opposition by President Issayas Afewerki, former EPLF leader. Torture is widespread and used against political prisoners. Prison conditions are harsh, including the use of metal shipping containers and underground cells for detention. Medical treatment is very rarely provided for prisoners.

Human rights defenders in Eritrea have not been allowed to carry out their work and many faith groups have been banned. Journalists have been detained without charge, and all private media has been banned since 2001. The government has indefinitely postponed elections that were required under the 1997 Constitution. Opposition parties and independent non-governmental organizations are not allowed.

Amnesty’s Involvement

Amnesty International members have repeatedly called on the Eritrean authorities to immediately and unconditionally release both Aster Yohannes and her husband Petros Solomon and to ensure that Aster Yohannes has access to any necessary medical care. Aster Yohannes remains in detention and is chronically ill. Please take action on her case by appealing to the government of Eritrea.