Media watchdog urges release of journalists

The Paris-based media watchdog, Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF), has called on the Eritrean government to free 10 detained journalists immediately. The plight of the 10 came to the fore earlier this week when they announced they were beginning a hunger strike to protest against their detention without charge for over six months. "They are being held in very bad conditions and we are worried about their health," said RSF secretary-general Robert Ménard on Thursday. "All they have done is express their opinions and nothing justifies their lengthy imprisonment. As far as we know, they have not been formally charged with anything and their detention is arbitrary and illegal." A press release issued by the Eritrean Journalists' Association in Exile (EJAE) on 3 April said the journalists had spent 72 hours without food and water. In a message passed from inside their prison, the journalists said they would continue refusing food and water "until they got justice", the EJAE reported. RSF noted that dozens of journalists had fled the country after the government closed down the private press last September, accusing it of "endangering national security and unity". Private publications were accused of carrying the opinions of government dissidents, 11 of whom are also in detention. An Eritrean National Assembly session held in January addressed the issue of the private press and set up a commission to establish a "responsible" independent press. 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.