MENDEFERA, Eritrea — In a large-scale roundup at the end of October, Eritrean authorities have detained 150 Christians from at least five of the country’s outlawed churches.
Starting Oct. 25, security officers in the town of Mendefera began going from house to house, arresting local Christians from a list they compiled of known members of Pentecostal churches and the Orthodox renewal movement. During the first day’s raids, a total of 38 men and 17 women were incarcerated at the military fort in Mendefera, 30 miles south of Asmara.
Local sources confirmed that police authorities were subjecting the detained Christians to beatings and other physical mistreatment. According to eyewitnesses, at least 10 nursing mothers were among the new prisoners, all of them forced to leave their infants behind.
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