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PUBLIC AI Index: AFR
64/011/2005
28 July 2005
UA 197/05
Fear of torture or
ill-treatment/incommunicado detention/detention without charge
ERITREA Hundreds of relatives
of military conscription evaders and deserters
Several hundred relatives of
people who have evaded or deserted from military conscription have
reportedly been arrested in the Debub region of southern Eritrea since
15 July. They are held incommunicado, many in harsh conditions, and are
at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Some reportedly began a hunger
strike in protest at their detention. Amnesty International fears that
the arrest campaign could be extended to all other parts of the country.
Those arrested were the
fathers, mothers or other relatives of men or women over the age of 18
who have either failed to report for national service since 1994, failed
to attend the compulsory final school year at Sawa
military training
camp, abandoned their army unit, or left the country illegally. The
relatives have been accused of facilitating their evasion of
conscription or flight abroad. Officials reportedly offered them release
on bail of between 10,000 and 50,000 nakfa (US$660 to US$3,300), if they
guaranteed that they would produce their missing relative.
None of those arrested has
been charged with a criminal offence or taken to court within the 48
hours stipulated by the Constitution and laws of Eritrea. They are held
incommunicado in different prisons. Many held in Adi Keih town prison
reportedly began a hunger strike in protest at their detention and have
been moved to Mai Serwa military camp near the capital Asmara. Prison
conditions for political detainees in Eritrea are harsh, with many held
in metal shipping containers or underground cells.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Thousands of young men and
women have sought asylum in
Sudan and other
countries since Eritrea's war with Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000, in an
effort to avoid conscription or after deserting from the army. National
service, compulsory for all men and women aged between 18 and 40, has
been extended indefinitely from the original 18 months' service enacted
in 1994. It consists of military service and labour on army-related
construction projects. The right to conscientious objection to military
service is not recognized by the Eritrean authorities. There are
frequent round-ups to catch evaders and deserters. Torture and
indefinite arbitrary detention are used as punishments for military
offences.
Amnesty International is
investigating reports that many
conscripts detained
for military offences at Wia army camp, east of the capital Asmara, were
killed by armed guards in a prison break-out in early June 2005. There
has been no inquiry into the killing of over a dozen people among some
thousands of suspected conscription evaders arrested in Asmara and
detained at the nearby Adi Abeto army prison on 4 November (see UA
301/04, AFR 64/008/2004, 9 November 2004).
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please
send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own
language:
- expressing concern at
reports of hundreds of arrests in Debub region of parents and relatives
of military conscription evaders and deserters;
- expressing concern that they
are being detained solely because of their relationship to those who
have evaded or deserted military service, and calling for their
immediate release unless they are to be charged with a recognizably
criminal offence;
- calling for guarantees that
they will not be tortured or ill-treated in detention;
- urging the authorities to
grant immediate access to relatives, lawyers and any necessary medical
treatment to all the detainees, including those who reportedly began a
hunger strike;
-
expressing concern at reports
that officials
have told the
detainees
that they can be bailed on
payment of large sums of money.
APPEALS TO:
President
His Excellency President
Issayas Afewerki
Office of the President
P O Box 257, Asmara, Eritrea
Fax: + 2911 126422
Salutation: Your Excellency
Ms Fawzia Hashim
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
P O Box 241, Asmara, Eritrea
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Brigadier Abraham Andom
Commissioner of Police
Ministry of Internal Affairs
P O Box 1223, Asmara, Eritrea
and to diplomatic
representatives of Eritrea accredited to your country.
--
Yonas Mehari DVM, MSc,
School of Computational Sciences
George Mason University
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