G-15 (Group 15) is a name given to a group in

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

that opposes the policy of President

Isaias Afewerki Isaias Afwerki (, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and leader who has been the president of Eritrea since 1993 and the chairman of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) since 1994. Isaias joined the pro-independen ...

postponing elections and the failure in implementing the constitution. The membership of this group consists of former members of the President's ruling

People's Front for Democracy and Justice The People's Front for Democracy and Justice (, PFDJ) is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the Marxist–Leninist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the PFDJ regards itsel ...

(PFDJ) which has ruled the country since its independence in 1993. In May 2001 the group issued an open letter raising criticism against Isayas Afeworki's actions calling them "illegal and unconstitutional."

Detentions and exile

, of the 15 members of the group, 11 were imprisoned, three were living in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and one, Muhammad Berhan Belata, had left the group and rejoined the government. The 11 members who were imprisoned are thought to be charged with treason. The Central Office of the PFDJ believes that they share, "...a common guilt: at the minimum, abdication of responsibility during Eritrea's difficult hours, at the maximum, grave conspiracy." In 2010, a former prison guard claimed that six of the 11 prisoners had died: Ogbe from asthma in 2002, Mahmoud from a neck infection in 2003, and Astier, Germano, Hamid and Salih from "illness and heat exhaustion". Five remained alive but very ill; Haile Woldetensae had lost his sight.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

named the imprisoned 11

prisoners of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

and repeatedly called for their release.

Members

The list of the G-15 includes: * Petros Solomon * Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo *

Haile Woldense Haile Woldense or Woldetensae () is an Eritrean politician. Woldense was born in 1946 and attended high school in Asmara, Eritrea. After graduation, he was accepted to the Addis Ababa University engineering program. There he met Isaias Afewerki a ...

* Mesfin Hagos * general Okbe Abraha * Hamid Himid * Saleh Idris Kekya *

Estifanos Seyoum Estifanos Seyoum (born 1947) is an Eritrean politician. He joined the Eritrean People's Liberation Front in 1972. Since independence, he has held the following positions: *member of the Central Council of People's Front for Democracy and Justice ...

* Berhane Ghebrezgabiher * Astier Fesehazion * Mohammed Berhan Blata * Germano Nati * Beraki Gebreselassie * Adhanom Ghebremariam * Kidane Ghebreab Wed Keshi

References

External links

Eritrea: Arbitrary detentions of government critics and journalists
{{Eritrea-stub Politics of Eritrea