Eiraeiro is a secret

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

. Most sources give the location of Eiraeiro as being situated near the village of Gahtelay, in the

Northern Red Sea Region The Northern Red Sea Region (, it, Regione del Mar Rosso Settentrionale, ) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It lies along the northern three quarters of the Red Sea, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the coastal city of Massawa. ...

. However, in an article in the

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

, Eiraeiro is cited as being located approximately 10 miles from the capital,

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

History and role

Little is known about Eiraeiro, it is believed to have been built in 2003, and used to indefinitely house political prisoners under the

Isaias Afwerki Isaias Afwerki ( ti, ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in M ...

dictatorship. Standards of care are very poor; in 2008 it was reported that of the initial 35 prisoners, 15 had died and another 9 were in 'very poor health'. Prisoners are reportedly shackled 24 hours a day, and are severely emaciated. Torture is also reportedly carried out in the prison. According to a Reporters Without Borders report, Eiraeiro contains 62 cells, which each measure 3 meters by 3 meters. The prison has been described as a

death camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

. Many of Eiraeiro's reported prisoners are journalists and former government officials who signed a letter protesting President Isaias' rule and policies, and called for his resignation, all of whom are being held without trial, for an indefinite period of time. The signatories are collectively known as the G-15. The status of the G-15 members, and that of other prisoners, is currently unknown, however in 2018 there were unconfirmed reports that former Minister of Finance and Development Haile Woldetensae had died in captivity. A former Eiraeiro guard who fled the country reported that approximately half of the imprisoned G-15 members had died by 2004. In his 2018 book Dictatorland, journalist

Paul Kenyon Paul Kenyon (born 8 May 1966) is a BAFTA-winning journalist and author who has reported from conflict zones around the world for BBC Panorama and has written several books. He made his name confronting criminals in his own prime time TV show on ...

states that it is believed that approximately 30 or so similar detention facilities are found across the country.

Notable Inmates

G-15 Members including: *

Dawit Isaak Dawit Isaak (born 28 October 1964) is a Swedish-Eritrean playwright, journalist and writer who has been held in prison in Eritrea since 2001 without trial and is considered a traitor by the Eritrean government. Amnesty International considers him ...

Fesshaye Yohannes Fesshaye Yohannes (born c. 1955, death year unknown) was an Eritrean journalist who founded the weekly journal '' Setit'' and was a recipient of the Committee to Protect Journalists' 2002 International Press Freedom Award. Fesshaye was imprisoned ...

Seyoum Tsehaye Seyoum Tsehaye (born 1952) is a jailed Eritrean journalist. At independence in 1993, Tsehaye was named to the head of Eri-TV, the Eritrean state broadcaster. He was arrested in September 2001 when President Isaias Afewerki closed all non-governme ...

* Haile Woldetensae

References

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