Eritrean Christian dies in custody
Open Doors International reports that Teklesenbet Gebreab Kiflom has died of malaria in a military camp in Eritrea after authorities refused to provide medication. He was imprisoned over a year ago because of his Christian faith.
Teklesenbet Gebreab Kiflom, 36, was the second Christian known to have died because of malaria in Eritrea’s Wi’a Military Training Center, located some 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the Red Sea port of Massawa, said Netherlands-based Open Doors, a Christian rights and aid group.
In June, another Christian held at the same facility died of malaria.
Last week, Eritrean authorities arrested 65 Christians belonging to five different house churches, apparently on the basis of reports from informants.
Since 2006, four Eritrean Christians are known to have died of torture in custody. It is estimated that over 3000 Christians, mostly evangelical Protestants, are presently imprisoned in appalling conditions in Eritrea.
U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom John Hanford said last month,
“Eritrea continued its race to the bottom with its abysmal record of abuses — arresting, detaining, torturing, even killing some of its citizens for merely attempting to worship outside one of the four government-approved religions.”
The four approved religious groups are: the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea, Sunni Islam, and the Roman Catholic Church.
The government of Eritrea maintains that no one is persecuted on the basis of religious beliefs.