ASMARA, Eritrea — In still another police raid in the Eritrean capital, local authorities arrested 80 members of the Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Asmara April 29 at the close of a service. An American couple, as well as several teachers from India working in Eritrea, was among those reportedly detained. But local sources confirmed that after four days, the two U.S. citizens were released May 3 and allowed to return home to Asmara.
Church leaders identified as still under custody include Zecharias Abraham, the Presbyterian church’s pastor, and church elder Mikias Mekonnen. The latest raid against Eritrea’s Protestant community came days after the government announced that the Eritrean Orthodox Church had elected a new patriarch, Bishop Dioskoros of Mendefera.
Share with others: