ASMARA, Eritrea — Police in the Eritrean capital of Asmara launched an investigation March 20 into the activities of an Orthodox group of young adults known as Medhane Alem. The group’s meeting place was sealed, and the lay leader of the group was arrested and released one day later.
Two days earlier, police also arrested 20 members of the Kale Hiwot Church during a home cell meeting in Assab. More than half of the members were military personnel who were taken to a nearby place called Gheharo. Their lives are in danger, fellow Protestants declared.
In a separate incident, an Eritrean Christian singer was arrested by security police in Asmara March 19. These latest arrests bring the known number of independent Protestants jailed for their faith to 385.
The prisoners include pastors, women, teenagers, children, the elderly and dozens of soldiers. Many have been subjected to severe torture and demeaning conditions for months.
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