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Between May 13 and May 27, four Christians were arrested: a popular singer, the pastor of an evangelical church, and two key evangelical leaders.
On May 13, Helen Berhane, 29, a member of the Rema Evangelical Church in Asmara, was arrested. She had recently released a recording that was popular among the youth. Refusing to sign papers that would require her to recant her faith and stop singing, she is imprisoned in a shipping container at the Mai Serwa military camp.
On the early morning of May 23, two key leaders of the Full Gospel (Mullu Wongel) Church, one of Eritrea's largest Pentecostal denominations, were arrested at their homes in Asmara. Haile Naizgi is currently the chairman of the Full Gospel Church. Married with four children, he was previously an accountant with World Vision. He is being held in Asmara's Police Station #1. Dr. Kuflu Gebremeskel is chairman of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance and a former mathematics professor at the University of Asmara. He is presently being held in Asmara's Police Station #6. VOM sources have reported that this station is a particularly terrible place with underground dungeons. Neither man is being allowed any visitor access, including family.
On the same day, police attempted to arrest Pastor Tesfatsion Hagos of the Rema Evangelical Church in Asmara, but failed to find him at home. Four days later, he was arrested while visiting the port city of Massawa. Pastor Hagos is married with three children. His whereabouts are unknown.
Pray for strength and boldness in the midst of the imprisonment of these and hundreds of other Christians in Eritrea.
For more information on persecution in Eritrea, including a recent video report by The Voice of the Martyrs, click here.
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