Report: Two Pastors Have Been Imprisoned for over 7,000 days in Eritrea
According to reports, two Eritrean pastors have been captive for more than 7,000 days in the East African country.
Voice of the Martyrs radio host Todd Nettleton said this week on the podcast The Global Lane that the two men were taken in the early 2000s, CBN News reports.
“Both of these pastors were part of the Full Gospel Church in Eritrea, back in 2002 the government called in the leaders of most of the evangelical churches in the country and said, ‘You are closed,'” Nettleton said. “No more public services, and these churches immediately went underground.”
In 2002, the Eritrean government outlawed any worship that was not Islam and the Orthodox Evangelical Lutheran and Roman Catholic Church. Many of the other churches, including Christian ones, became underground churches.
However, Christians were arrested and imprisoned in light of the new law, including two from the Full Gospel Church, who were arrested in 2004.
The two men were Haile Naigzhi, leader of the Full Gospel Church, and Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, chair of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance.
They have not been sentenced or tried in Eritrea.
Naizghe had formerly worked with World Vision. He was arrested in May 2004 and taken to a police station.
Gebremeskel, a former math professor, was arrested and taken from his home in May 2004 as well.
Both men were transferred to a maximum-security prison, Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Center.
In 2016, Naigzhe’s family said in an interview with World Watch Monitor that they had moved out of the country out of fear for their safety.
“We feel safer here,” said Naigzhi’s wife. “We are able to freely serve God. I am also happy because the children are in a good school.”
But she also said she misses her husband.
“It is difficult, but we hold on to Jesus,” she said.
In 2019, Church in Chains reported that Naizghe was in good health in prison, but there have been no other updates on the pastor.
Gebremeskel has been spotted over the years visiting hospitals while in custody, including once in 2014 and again in 2021. Gebremeskel is married and has four children.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Rarrarorro
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
Comments are closed.