Student leader arrested

University students in Asmara, Eritrea, have issued a statement on the arrest of the president of the students’ union of Asmara University, Semere Kesete. According to the statement released on the internet, Semere was arrested from his home by national security agents on 31 July in the early evening, the Eritrean opposition web site Awate.com said on 1 August. There had been no official response to his arrest either to his family or the students’ union. The students said they regarded the arrest as a serious violation by the government.

In the statement, the students demanded that the “concerned authorities give an official statement of his present condition and whereabouts to the students’ union”. They also demanded that if Semere was accused of any crime “his constitutional right should be respected and his case must be presented to a civil court”. If the student leader had not committed a crime “he should be immediately released and the reason for his arrest be officially stated”, the statement insisted.