Free journalists, RSF urged government

Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) has made a new appeal to the Eritrean government to free 14 journalists detained for the past two years and to allow the independent media to reopen, the Paris-based media watchdog said in a press statement issued on 17 September. RSF said Eritrea had become "the biggest prison for journalists in Africa," and that the closure of the free press made it "the sole country in Africa and one of the very few in the world where only the government media is allowed". In September 2001, the Eritrean authorities detained 11 members of the government, then closed all private media and arrested 14 journalists and editors. They are still in detention. None of the imprisoned journalists have been charged with any crime, and the authorities have refused to give any information on where they are being held or the conditions of their detention, RSF said. According to RSF, journalists began a hunger strike on 31 March 2002, saying in a letter smuggled out of jail that they were protesting against their illegal imprisonment and demanding their "right to justice and a trial by a fair and independent court". The Eritrean government has stressed that the ban on the private press amounts to a "temporary suspension" and that its commitment to the growth of a free press is on track.