Government rejects religious report

The Eritrean government has rejected a claim by Amnesty International (AI) that it engages in religious persecution. In an AI report released on Wednesday entitled, "Eritrea: Religious Persecution", the agency accuses the Horn of Africa nation of denying people their right to freedom of religion. The report maintains many people in the country are detained and subjected to physical punishment - including having their hands and feet tied together behind their backs for hours - on the basis of their religious beliefs. "We do not want to dignify this politicised report disguised in the name of defending religious freedom, but I can tell you that Eritrea is one of the very few countries in the world where there has been no religious conflict," said Ali Abdu, Eritrea’s acting minister of information. "Eritrea enjoys religious harmony, and we want to maintain that harmony," he added. The report documents 44 incidents of religious persecution since 2003. Most of those who were allegedly victimised do not belong to an officially recognised faith. Religious freedom is enshrined in international law. Since 2002, however, the Eritrean government has ordered all unregistered religions to close their places of worship until they were registered. Only four main religions are recognised as official faiths: the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches and Islam. No minority religion has succeeded in registering since the measures were enacted. "In the last 3 years, at least 26 pastors and priests, some 1,750 evangelical church members, and dozens of Muslims have been detained by the government. Many have been tortured and churches have been shut down," the AI report said. "All those detained for their religious beliefs must be released immediately. The situation is critical and we are extremely concerned for the safety and wellbeing of hundreds of people facing this reality in Eritrea," said Kolawole Olaniyan, director of AI's Africa programme, in the report. Eritrea has a population of around 3.6 million, of whom about half are Sunni Muslims and 40 percent Orthodox Christian. There are small numbers of Roman Catholics, Protestants, Seventh-day Adventists and 1,500 Jehovah's Witnesses, according to the US State Department. The AI report stated that 22 Jehovah’s Witnesses are amongst those currently being detained. For the report "Eritrea: Religious Persecution", visit: http://web.amnesty.org/