Eritrean Police Halt Christian Wedding

(Compass) – Police disrupted a Christian marriage ceremony in the Eritrean town of Senafe on Sunday, July 25, and arrested 30 guests and members of the wedding party. Charging in and demanding a halt to the ceremony, police officers ordered everyone who was not a “Pente” (a derisive abbreviation for “Pentecostal”) to leave the place immediately. Many of the guests did so, but the 30 evangelical Christians who remained were hauled off to a police station. Yesterday, all but two of the prisoners were released after signing a document promising not to participate in any evangelical Christian wedding in the future. Police continue to hold an evangelist, identified as Michel, of the Kale Hiwot church and Teame Kibrom, a man in his 80s. Officials declared the two responsible for the wedding that allegedly defied a government ban on evangelical church activities. More than 400 evangelical Christians are currently jailed by the Eritrean government, including prominent pastors Rev. Haile Naizgi, Dr. Kiflu Gebremeske and Tesfatsion Hagos.