🔗 Share this article Olympian and Other Eritreans Freed After 18 Years Without Trial, Family Members Say Zeragaber Gebrehiwot was 24 when he participated in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. A group of thirteen people held for over 18 years without being formally charged in Eritrea have been released from a notorious military detention facility, according to relatives of the detainees. Among those freed were several well-known individuals, such as 69-year-old Olympian cyclist and businessman Zeragaber Gebrehiwot. They had been held at Mai Serwa detention center, renowned for its severe environment and where many inmates are considered political prisoners. Details of the Arrest A source who was once detained in Mai Serwa indicated the prisoners were arrested in October 2007 after an assassination attempt on a senior internal security officer in the government. Around 30 people were initially detained, according to the source. A number have been freed over the years, but roughly two dozen remained in custody. The Story of an Athlete Zeragaber competed in the Moscow Olympics in 1980 when Eritrea was part of Ethiopia. The nation in the Horn of Africa, which gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, possesses a deep-rooted cycling culture and its cyclists have steadily gained international recognition in recent years. List of Freed The individuals freed alongside Zeragaber include notable entrepreneurs Tesfalem Mengsteab and Bekure Mebrahtu as well as the Habtemariam brothers - David, an engineer, and Matthews, a surveyor. A half-dozen high-level police officials and an state security officer were also freed. The Eritrean government has not issued any statement concerning the releases. Many of them are sick and this could explain why they have been released now. Relatives were prohibited to visit the prisoners throughout their incarceration, the family members reported. International Condemnation and Prison Conditions United Nations bodies and rights organizations have consistently criticized the Eritrean government of serious abuses, encompassing ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and the detention of many thousands of people in deplorable circumstances. Mai Serwa facility, situated about 9km north-west of the capital city, Asmara, has grown over the years to include 20 metal shipping containers in which prisoners are held without contact, sources have indicated. Context of Political Control For the past thirty years, Eritrea has continued to be a single-party nation with no active constitutional framework. It is one of the most militarized countries, with indefinite military conscription. There has been an absence of independent media since the closure of private publications and detention of most of their editors and journalists in 2001. This occurred after the government arrested 15 politicians referred to as the G-15, along with 16 journalists, after they demanded that the president implement the proposed constitution and conduct democratic polls. Per advocacy organizations, the status and location of 11 of the politicians, as well as the journalists accused of links to the G-15, are still unconfirmed. Now 79 years old, the leader recently passed 32 years in power and has still never faced an election.
Zeragaber Gebrehiwot was 24 when he participated in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. A group of thirteen people held for over 18 years without being formally charged in Eritrea have been released from a notorious military detention facility, according to relatives of the detainees. Among those freed were several well-known individuals, such as 69-year-old Olympian cyclist and businessman Zeragaber Gebrehiwot. They had been held at Mai Serwa detention center, renowned for its severe environment and where many inmates are considered political prisoners. Details of the Arrest A source who was once detained in Mai Serwa indicated the prisoners were arrested in October 2007 after an assassination attempt on a senior internal security officer in the government. Around 30 people were initially detained, according to the source. A number have been freed over the years, but roughly two dozen remained in custody. The Story of an Athlete Zeragaber competed in the Moscow Olympics in 1980 when Eritrea was part of Ethiopia. The nation in the Horn of Africa, which gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, possesses a deep-rooted cycling culture and its cyclists have steadily gained international recognition in recent years. List of Freed The individuals freed alongside Zeragaber include notable entrepreneurs Tesfalem Mengsteab and Bekure Mebrahtu as well as the Habtemariam brothers - David, an engineer, and Matthews, a surveyor. A half-dozen high-level police officials and an state security officer were also freed. The Eritrean government has not issued any statement concerning the releases. Many of them are sick and this could explain why they have been released now. Relatives were prohibited to visit the prisoners throughout their incarceration, the family members reported. International Condemnation and Prison Conditions United Nations bodies and rights organizations have consistently criticized the Eritrean government of serious abuses, encompassing ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and the detention of many thousands of people in deplorable circumstances. Mai Serwa facility, situated about 9km north-west of the capital city, Asmara, has grown over the years to include 20 metal shipping containers in which prisoners are held without contact, sources have indicated. Context of Political Control For the past thirty years, Eritrea has continued to be a single-party nation with no active constitutional framework. It is one of the most militarized countries, with indefinite military conscription. There has been an absence of independent media since the closure of private publications and detention of most of their editors and journalists in 2001. This occurred after the government arrested 15 politicians referred to as the G-15, along with 16 journalists, after they demanded that the president implement the proposed constitution and conduct democratic polls. Per advocacy organizations, the status and location of 11 of the politicians, as well as the journalists accused of links to the G-15, are still unconfirmed. Now 79 years old, the leader recently passed 32 years in power and has still never faced an election.