By Timothy Fowler, EN – “A Christian leader in Eritrea says that religious persecution in the northeast African country ‘is at its highest level ever and getting worse,’ World Watch Monitor (WWM), the news outlet of Open Doors, a Christian charity reports.
WWM reports the stories of Christians around the world under pressure for their faith.
It indicated that the leader’s name would not be used because of security reasons.
The total number of Christians arrested in Eritrea this year has risen to 191 after the detention of 37 students from the College of Arts and Sciences Adi Kihe and five men from the Church of the Living God in Asmara, according to WWM.
Up to 3,000 Christians are imprisoned because of their faith in Eritrea.
Open Doors ranks the country 10th on its World Watch List and gives it the designation of ‘extreme persecution’ on its scale.
Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) say many prisoners are held in metal shipping containers without ventilation or toilet facilities.
Eritrea allowed religious freedom until 2002, when the government announced it would only recognize religious groups: Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church of Eritrea, and the Lutheran-affiliated Evangelical Church of Eritrea, said VOM.
Since then, it says the Eritrean government has jailed, tortured and jailed numerous Eritreans for political and religious reasons.
As a result, Eritrea has been called ‘the North Korea of Africa’.” Read more.
Flashback: Eritrea: Government Beats, Detains 125 Christians For ‘Illegal’ Worship, ‘Christians Are Treated Like Enemy No. 1′ – “Over the past week, 125 Christians have been beaten and detained in Eritrea. ‘Police arrested these church members from homes and workplaces during broad daylight and then marched them through town to the police station while beating them,’ an investigator for Open Doors reported to Worthy News. Among the 125 Christians, 45 men and women were arrested on Feb. 27 for worshiping outside highly regulated government-approved churches in Eritrea.” Read more.
Flashback: Eritrean Christian in Saudi Arabia Faces Death Penalty for Sharing His Faith – “An Eritrean Christian is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia after being arrested for sharing his faith with Muslims. Mussie Eyob was detained by the authorities at a mosque in Saudi’s second largest city, Jeddah, on 12 February. He had gone there to meet and talk with local Muslims after speaking about Christianity at the Eritrean Embassy for three days. Eyob was arrested for preaching to Muslims, an offence that carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.” Read more.
Flashback: Eritrean Christians In Cairo Abducted By Islamists, Told To Convert To Islam – “Christian Solidarity Worldwide has received alarming reports of the abductions of six Eritrean women in Cairo. The women were reportedly abducted in the Egyptian capital by men purporting to be police officers. The women, aged between 20 and 32, claim to have travelled in a white taxi that was stopped by men in police uniforms, who opened the vehicle and sprayed an unknown substance into their faces that caused them to lose consciousness. When they awoke, they were in an unfamiliar location.” Read more.
Reblogged from Midnight watchers
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