Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo (born 1948, possibly died December 2003), commonly known simply as Sherifo, was an Eritrean politician. He joined the

Eritrean Liberation Front The Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF; ; ; ), colloquially known as Jebha, was the main Eritrean War of Independence, independence movement in Eritrea Province, Eritrea which sought Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and the ear ...

in 1967. He was an independent activist during Eritrea's war of independence from Ethiopia. Post-independence, he served in various capacities as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Local Government. In September 2001 he was detained indefinitely along with other politicians who were known as the

G-15 The Group of 15 (G-15)Thofficial website adopts the "G-15" orthography (with a hyphen) in order to distinguish an abbreviated reference to this group -- contrasts with other similarly named entities. is an informal forum set up to foster coopera ...

, a group which opposed the rule of Eritrean 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 ...

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 ...

has named him a

prisoner 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 called for his immediate release in 2011.

Political career

Sherifo joined the

in 1967. He was an independent activist during Eritrea's war of independence from Ethiopia. Post-independence, he served as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

before his last posting as Minister of Local Government. During this time he was also appointed Chairman of the Committee to prepare the draft laws concerning the first round of National Elections and the Political Party laws. Once the drafts were completed the Chairman of the National Assembly (and President),

summoned a report on the drafts. Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo was detained for his hazy role (schemes that occurred on May 19, 1993), and for orchestrating a coup d'état in 2001.

Arrest

Sherifo has been detained since 2001 following the

affair. Dissidents suggest he has been detained for campaigning for

democratic reform Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

s, while official sources contend that his detention is a consequence of "discreetly...solicit ngsupport in government circles for ousting the president, and to seek US and UN intervention to end the war on

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

's surrender terms" while being detained. In September 2001 he was detained indefinitely along with other politicians who were known as the

, a group which opposed the rule of Eritrean president

. Mahmud along with 15 other ministers were arrested by the ruling front and detained in unknown location ever since. The ministers were criticizing the border war of the then president, Isaia and signed an open letter. He was fired along with other opposing members and was detained on 18 September 2001. He was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. Although Eritrea has no post of vice president, nonetheless some sources have listed Sherifo as the vice president, and continue to do so (2006)."Country Profile: Eritrea: Politics: Main political figures" ''Economist Intelligence Unit'' 1 June 2006

has named him a

and called for his immediate release.

Assumed death

It is believed that Sheriffo has died in December 2003 of complications related to diabetes, for which he did not receive medical attention. His death has never been confirmed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherifo, Mahmoud Ahmed 1948 births Possibly living people People from Southern region (Eritrea) Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Eritrea Eritrean diplomats Eritrean prisoners and detainees People's Front for Democracy and Justice politicians Government ministers of Eritrea Foreign ministers of Eritrea