Eight students detained for protesting Bible burning

SAWA, Eritrea — Authorities locked up eight high school students in metal shipping containers Aug. 5 at a military training school because they objected to the burning of hundreds of Bibles, sources said.

The eight male students from the Sawa Defense Training Center in Sawa were incarcerated after military authorities confiscated more than 1,500 personal Bibles from new students arriving for the academic year.

“During the time that the Bibles were set on fire; the chief commander of Sawa, Col. Debesai Ghide, gave a warning to all the students by telling them that Sawa is a place of patriotism, not a place for ‘Pentes’ (Pentecostals),’” said one source.

Reading the Bible privately, discussing the Christian faith with other students and praying before or after meals alone or in groups is forbidden at the center, the source said.