Police torture two Eritrean Christians to death

ASMARA, Eritrea — Eritrean security police tortured two Christians to death Oct. 17, two days after arresting them for holding a religious service in a private home south of Asmara. Immanuel Andegergesh, 23, and Kibrom Firemichel, 30, died from torture wounds and severe dehydration in a military camp outside the town of Adi Quala, eyewitnesses said. The deaths came after officials detained a U.S. citizen and reimprisoned a popular Christian singer, Helen Berhane, who was hospitalized as a result of spending 29 months in a metal shipping container. In early October, Eritrean authorities returned Berhane to military detention after she spent three days in Asmara’s Halibet Hospital for medical treatment. Her leg had been seriously damaged by beatings she received while imprisoned.