Two international human rights groups issued statements on Thursday expressing concern over the whereabouts and safety of 11 government opponents arrested earlier this week. The US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for their immediate release, while the UK-based Amnesty International urged the Eritrean government to bring them to court promptly, and either charge or release them. "There are genuine concerns about the whereabouts and detention conditions of the reformists," said HRW.
Six members of the so-called G-15 reform group were arrested in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Tuesday, and another five were arrested on Wednesday, while the government ordered the country's private press suspended indefinitely. The 11 men arrested were all formerly senior members of the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), but were sacked in May after they wrote an open letter critical of what they called Eritrean President Isayas Aferwerki's autocratic rule.
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