Sixty More Evangelical Christians Jailed

(Compass) – Sixty members of the Rema Charismatic Church in the Eritrean capital of Asmara have been arrested for holding a New Year’s Eve celebration in the home of one of their church leaders. On the night of December 31, police took into custody the hosts of the gathering, Habteab Oqbamichel and his wife Letensae, along with another 23 men and 35 women. They are reportedly being held in solitary confinement the Mai-Serwa military camp. Independent Protestant churches have experienced heavy police surveillance since the U.S. State Department named Eritrea as a “country of particular concern” for its severe religious freedom violations. “There are cars parked outside our homes and offices, following us to the post office or wherever we go,” one Christian commented. According to BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher who was expelled from Asmara in September, the government seems to be “afraid that people who consider their highest allegiance to be [to] God, at some point may not be patriotic and follow the state’s instructions.”