Eritrea: Detainees

(asked on 15th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Eritrea on reforming its policies that breach the human rights of (a) prisoners who have never been charged nor presented to a court of law but kept imprisoned without due legal process and incommunicado for decades and (b) other citizens.


Answered by
James Duddridge Portrait
James Duddridge
This question was answered on 23rd July 2020

The UK Government, along with partners in the international community, has taken every opportunity to voice our concern about arbitrary arrests and detentions in Eritrea, and has called for the release of those arrested and detained in this way. We have done so directly with the Government of Eritrea and publicly at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, most recently on 30 June at the 44th Session. Over the past year, our Ambassador in Asmara has raised the cases of journalists detained without trial, as well as members of non-registered religious groups. We do not have a regular dialogue but we will continue to seek opportunities to raise these cases in our engagements.

On 26 February, the UK's International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, delivered a statement during the 43rd Session of the HRC, expressing concern at continuing human rights abuses and said that the UK would continue to press for the release of arbitrarily detained individuals. Eritrea remains a priority country for the FCO under our annual human rights reporting, and we will continue to monitor the situation there.

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