Pregnant Sharon Arrested in Eritrea for Being a Jehovah’s Witness, Persecuted for Thirty Years

The appeal to President Isaias Afwerki: "Revoke the 1994 decree"

ROME – Sharon is 38 years old, born and raised in Asmara, and was six months pregnant when she was arrested in September with her husband Fitsum Goitom, also a Jehovah’s Witness and like her very active in the community of believers. Her father, Ghebru Berhane, was imprisoned four times. Two of her brothers have left the country. Many of her family members were arrested on April 14, 2014, during a mass arrest of 150 Witnesses and supporters. Henok suffered the same fate: he is 41 years old, loves soccer and wanted to be an electrician. He worked in the family business and helped his father look for livestock. On January 24, 2005, he was arrested when the army began looking for young people on the streets to enlist in the military. Henok, a Jehovah’s Witness, refused to join the army, as this would have violated his conscience. Kdisti is a woman who is over 70 years old, she was imprisoned together with her 73-year-old husband in November 2022 for refusing to donate money for political purposes.

The stories that come from Eritrea, documented and denounced by the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, of people persecuted and deprived of civil rights without having committed crimes, are many, many if you consider that there are not many believers in the country. The congregation appeals to President Afwerki to revoke the decree that stripped Jehovah’s Witnesses of their citizenship rights, forcing them to live “over 30 years of brutal oppression”, no longer having the possibility of carrying out a civilian service alternative to military service. “On September 27, 2024 – only the latest incident reported by the congregation in an official statement – Eritrean authorities flagrantly violated the rights of a small group of Jehovah’s Witnesses by raiding a private home where members were holding a peaceful religious meeting. The authorities arrested 24 people, including elderly Witnesses over eighty years of age, a woman six months pregnant, and minors. There are currently 64 Witnesses (35 men and 29 women) in prison. This is a considerable number, since there are relatively few Witnesses in the country.”

“Jehovah’s Witnesses in Eritrea face arbitrary detention and relentless oppression in every aspect of their daily lives, especially since October 25, 1994. This is the date on which President Eritrean Isaias Afwerki – they recall – signed a decree revoking the citizenship of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Eritrean nationality. In the past three decades since the decree was issued, at least 270 Jehovah’s Witnesses – men, women, elderly and even children – have been imprisoned in inhumane conditions. Some have been imprisoned without even being charged with any crime, effectively serving a form of life imprisonment. At least 7 Witnesses have died in prison or as a result of religious persecution. Having become stateless following the decree, Eritrean Jehovah’s Witnesses are unable to obtain employment or own or rent property. They also do not qualify for basic government-provided food supplies (such as flour and milk), which are extremely expensive or nearly impossible to find in the country.”

Everything has become irremediably complicated precisely with “the 1994 decree which – Jehovah’s Witnesses emphasize – has also eliminated an indispensable legal institution for young male Witnesses: alternative civil service. Previously, conscientious objectors to military service could perform alternative civilian service, but the decree ended this provision by forcing young Eritreans to register for military training to complete the twelfth grade of their school system. As a result, young Jehovah’s Witnesses are unable to complete their basic education, and some have been arrested as conscientious objectors.” “It deeply saddens us to know that so many of our fellow believers have died or spent many years in Eritrean prisons,” said Alessandro Bertini, national spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Italy.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses are known throughout the world as peaceful, law-abiding Christians. It is a complete travesty that members of our religious community continue to suffer such shameful violations of their human rights. The persecution does not only affect Jehovah’s Witnesses. It also has a negative effect on Eritrean society in general, as young Witnesses languish in prison instead of contributing to the betterment of their communities. We appeal to the president to repeal the decree that has stripped our fellow believers of their rights as citizens, so that they can once again make a meaningful contribution to Eritrean society.”