Press Release
More Deaths of Eritreans in Ethiopian Detention Camps

The death list of innocent Eritreans detained in the Blatten concentration camp and other prisons in Ethiopia is increasing from time to time.

The number of Eritreans dying in detention camps in Ethiopia is much higher than is officially reported to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Yosief Ghebreab Zecarias and Fesseha Hannes are the latest and unaccounted victims of this inhumane treatment.

Yosief Ghebreab Zecarias was 25 years old and engaged in business activities in Ethiopia until he was put in Blatten concentration camp by the Ethiopian authorities. Fesseha Hannes was living a peaceful life until he was detained and brutally beaten to death by the TPLF cadres in prison camps in Tigray. He was the father of four children.

The Eritrean Government has been calling repeatedly on the international community to ensure the release of the innocent Eritreans in detention in Ethiopia and for the investigation of the causes of death of those who have perished in those prison camps. But, so far, the calls continue to fall on deaf ears.

Similarly, the wholesale deportation of Eritreans on the basis of their ethnicity and the confiscation of their property continues without let-up. To date, over 48,000 Eritreans have been deported from Ethiopia. In the circumstances, the Government of Eritrea once again calls on the international community to deplore these gross violations of human rights and ensure the immediate release of the Eritreans languishing in Ethiopian prison camps.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara, 9 January 1999