Eritrean gov't steps up persecution of evangelicals
ICC Note
Government clamp down on Christians has continued in Eritrea .
By Allie Martin
September 4, 2007 Eritrea (OneNewsNow) ---Persecution against Christians continues in the African nation of Eritrea to the point, says Voice of the Martyrs, that public gatherings of evangelicals are no longer allowed.
According to Compass Direct News Service, a pastor who disappeared last month in Eritrea has not been found. It is the latest in a string of incidents involving persecution against Christians. Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs says that in 2002 the government of Eritrea told evangelical leaders that they were, in effect, closing them down.
"They said ... you're done with public meetings; your pastors can still keep office hours, but no more public services, no more public meetings in your evangelical churches [will be permitted]," says Nettleton.
He says that since the crackdown, evangelicals have had to meet secretly in homes. Last month, ten members of a Full Gospel Church were arrested as they gathered in a private home for worship, and to-date more than 2,000 evangelical Christians are being held in Eritrean prisons.
