BARTLESVILLE, Okla., May 16, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Twenty years ago, on May 23,
2004, two men were arrested for the "crime" of being a
pastor. Twenty years later, those two men are still in prison.
Pastor Haile Nayzgi and Dr.
Kiflu Gebremeskel were arrested for
their leadership in the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea after the government outlawed
Christian churches.
Nayzgi and Gebremeskel never stood trial and never received a
sentence. They simply disappeared into one of the world's worst
prison systems. They have been held incommunicado for most of their
imprisonment, denied access to their families, lawyers, and medical
care.
"The continued imprisonment of these two pastors is a gross
offense to human rights and human decency," said
Todd Nettleton, VOM Vice President. "Any claim the Eritrean
government makes about protecting religious freedom is a ridiculous
sham."
These two pastors are among more than 350 Eritrean Christians
currently in prison, including 80 arrested this year.
Last year, The Voice of the Martyrs encouraged Christians to
pray for the release of Haile and Kiflu's on their 7,000th day in
prison. VOM provided information to help Christians email or fax
the Eritrean embassy.
In response, more than 15,000 people committed to pray. Then,
six days later, 13 Eritrean Christians were released from
prison.
Nettleton also encouraged U.S. leaders to "use every tool at
their disposal to urge the Eritrean government to end Eritrea's persecution of Christians."
Recently, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
urged "the Biden administration to bring greater attention to
religious freedom violations in Eritrea."
"I am thankful so many are praying for and speaking out on
behalf of imprisoned Eritrean Christians," said Nettleton. "Twenty
years in prison for being a pastor is far too long!"
Eritrea is a small, East
African country with a population of about 5 million people. The
population of Eritrea is nearly
evenly divided between Sunni Muslims and Orthodox Christians. Only
about 3 percent are evangelical Christians.
According to VOM's Global Prayer Guide, Eritrea is classified as a "restricted
nation."
For more information, and how to contact Eritrean government
leaders on behalf of imprisoned Christians, visit
VOM.org/20Years.
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SOURCE The Voice of the Martyrs