US: Religious Freedom Deteriorating in Eritrea

US: Religious Freedom Deteriorating in Eritrea
By Jonathan Racho
07/31/2012 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern)-Religious freedom is deteriorating in Eritrea resulting in serious violations of human rights for the country’s persecuted Christians.
According to the report by the United States State Department released yesterday, the government of Eritrea “demonstrated a trend toward deterioration in respect for religious freedom…The government subjected religious prisoners to harsh conditions and held them for long periods of time without due process.”
Eritrea is one of the top persecutors of Christians. The country’s security officials have detained more than 3,000 Christians for practicing their faith. The prisoners are kept in inhumane conditions in metal shipping containers, military barracks and underground dungeons.
The harsh conditions of the prisoners is confirmed by the State Department’s report which stated, “Some religious prisoners were hung from trees in painful positions for several weeks until they could no longer move their arms and legs, requiring other prisoners to feed and bathe them. Religious prisoners also reported being forced to walk barefoot on sharp rocks and thorns for one hour per day, beaten with hard plastic and metal rods in order to extract ‘confessions,’ and threatened with death if they did not recant their faith.“
Eritrea is a small country located in East Africa. The communist leaders of the country are notorious for restricting religious freedom and other fundamental rights.