Date: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
An asylum seeker from Eritrea was stabbed to death last night (Tuesday) in the Hatikva neighborhood in Tel Aviv. One of the directions of the investigation being examined by the police is that the murdered person was an opponent of the regime in Eritrea who was stabbed to death by regime supporters during a fight. So far, no suspects have been arrested.
The Eritrean community said that the murdered man was a father of two who was not involved in crimes. His funeral ceremony was held today at the church on Lavanda Street in Tel Aviv. At the end of the ceremony, Johnny, one of the leaders of the community of asylum seekers from Eritrea, said that the community demands that the police investigate the case in depth. According to him, since the riots at the beginning of the month, the community has been living in fear: "There is great public anger and we are asking for help from the government and protection from the regime's supporters." Johnny added that "the person who was murdered is a father of two who came back from work to earn a living, we feel afraid and insecure."
The community said that since the violent clashes at the beginning of the month in Tel Aviv between the opponents of the regime and its supporters, there have been several violent incidents in the city between the parties. Community members from both sides testified that they are afraid to go to certain areas for fear of being harmed. In the past there have been many violent incidents between the parties in Israel, and in 2020 a supporter of the regime was stabbed to death by three opponents during a fight.
Almost 200 people were injured at the beginning of this month in violent clashes that broke out in south Tel Aviv between asylum seekers who oppose the regime in Eritrea, and its supporters and between the police forces. The clashes began when opponents of the regime vandalized a hall where an event of the Eritrean Embassy in Tel Aviv was supposed to take place.
During the clashes, dozens of community members were arrested and transferred to administrative detention - some of them without having previously been brought to a hearing on the extension of their detention in court. According to Haaretz's investigation, many of the detainees were not represented by lawyers at the hearing of their case in court, and in most cases they were released because the police had no evidence against them. Administrative detention is not limited in time, and 96 hours may pass from the moment of arrest until the detainees are brought before a judge.
