POLITICAL PRISONERS<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The independent Eritrean journalists who have been jailed without trial for the last 21 years were remembered in the British Parliament last night. The star-studded event was opened by the Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea, Patrick Grady MP, (statement below)<\/p>\n
Speakers included Dr Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea, Lord David Alton, Lyn Brown MP, Labour Shadow Africa Minister, and Awet Fissehaye of PEN Eritrea.<\/p>\n
Guests began visiting the exhibition itself, which is in the lobby that all members of parliament pass through to get to the parliament\u2019s committee rooms.<\/p>\n
Visitors came to learn about the plight of the brave men and women who refused to toe President\u2019s Isaias Afwerki\u2019s line and served the Eritrean public by writing for the independent media, until their indefinite detention without trial in 2001.<\/p>\n
There was time for discussion and debate, as well as interacting with members of parliament and their guests.<\/p>\n
This was followed by a meeting in the Jubilee Room, chaired by Patrick Grady, MP, who pledged to keep campaigning with the Eritrean community to get the imprisoned journalists freed. [See his statement below]\n
Lord David Alton, a frequent speaker in parliament on Eritrea, who has continually raised the subject with Ministers, encouraged British Eritreans to speak to their own member of parliament about the suffering of their people. \u201cThis is your democratic right,\u201d he said. \u201cUse it to get your MP engaged with Eritrea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyn Brown, the Labour Party\u2019s shadow Africa minister, welcomed the exhibition as a chance to raise the issue of Eritrean human rights. She went on to talk about the terrible abuses Eritrean troops had inflicted on civilians during their invasion of Tigray: \u201cwe need to ensure that all perpetrators are held to account.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, said that the\u00a0 issue of Eritrea\u2019s \u201cdisappeared,\u201d who had never been brought before a court and whose location and safety are unknown, was one of his principle concerns. \u201cI have been attempting to raise this with the Eritrean authorities, by going to Asmara, or at the UN, but they refuse to engage,\u201d Dr Babiker said.<\/p>\n
Rob Coward, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office desk officer for Eritrea and Djibouti, told the meeting that supporting Dr Babiker\u2019s efforts to visit and engage with the Eritrean authorities was British government policy. \u201cThis refusal of access to Dr Babiker is not acceptable\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Awet Fissehaye of PEN Eritrea spoke most movingly about the fate of fellow Eritrean journalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day, in September 2001\u201d Awet said, \u201cthere was a press release from the Eritrean government announcing the temporary ban on private media. In the following days and weeks, private media journalists, writers, poets and government critics, including top government ministers and members of the national assembly, were taken from their houses, work, or the streets and subsequently disappeared from normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies and friends hoped the detentions would not last longer than weeks or a maximum of a few months. But their hope started to fade when the government launched a massive campaign against them, accusing them of treachery and of conspiring with foreigners against the country. Ever since, no-one has known about their whereabouts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ban is still in force. The jailed journalists are still imprisoned, without trial. Only the Eritrean government knows their fate.<\/p>\n
The meeting ended with informal discussion. Here is Patrick Grady\u2019s press statement.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 DECEMBER 7, 2022\u00a0MARTIN PLAUT\u00a0NEWS,\u00a0POLITICAL PRISONERS \u00a0 The independent Eritrean journalists who have been jailed without trial for the last 21 years were remembered in the British Parliament last night. The star-studded event was opened by the Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea, Patrick Grady MP, (statement below) Speakers included Dr …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Eritrean's jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament | ELL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eritrean's jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament | ELL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 \u00a0 DECEMBER 7, 2022\u00a0MARTIN PLAUT\u00a0NEWS,\u00a0POLITICAL PRISONERS \u00a0 The independent Eritrean journalists who have been jailed without trial for the last 21 years were remembered in the British Parliament last night. The star-studded event was opened by the Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea, Patrick Grady MP, (statement below) Speakers included Dr …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ELL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-08T20:09:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-08T20:10:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Eritrean-jailed-journalist-exhibition-uk-Parliament.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"602\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"451\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/\",\"name\":\"Eritrean's jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament | ELL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-08T20:09:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-08T20:10:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0356c5c678a781a9db334f15eabd6c85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Eritrean’s jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Eritrean Lowlands League\",\"description\":\"Eritrean Lowland League\",\"alternateName\":\"Eritrean Lowlands League\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0356c5c678a781a9db334f15eabd6c85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b92f36eee025bcf7087b10819ddd5e0d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b92f36eee025bcf7087b10819ddd5e0d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/author\/admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Eritrean's jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament | ELL","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Eritrean's jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament | ELL","og_description":"\u00a0 \u00a0 DECEMBER 7, 2022\u00a0MARTIN PLAUT\u00a0NEWS,\u00a0POLITICAL PRISONERS \u00a0 The independent Eritrean journalists who have been jailed without trial for the last 21 years were remembered in the British Parliament last night. The star-studded event was opened by the Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea, Patrick Grady MP, (statement below) Speakers included Dr …","og_url":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/","og_site_name":"ELL","article_published_time":"2022-12-08T20:09:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-08T20:10:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":602,"height":451,"url":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Eritrean-jailed-journalist-exhibition-uk-Parliament.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/","url":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/","name":"Eritrean's jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament | ELL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-12-08T20:09:46+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-08T20:10:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0356c5c678a781a9db334f15eabd6c85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/human-rights\/eritreans-jailed-journalist-exhibition-open-in-uk-parliament\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Eritrean’s jailed journalist exhibition open in UK Parliament"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/","name":"Eritrean Lowlands League","description":"Eritrean Lowland League","alternateName":"Eritrean Lowlands League","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0356c5c678a781a9db334f15eabd6c85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b92f36eee025bcf7087b10819ddd5e0d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b92f36eee025bcf7087b10819ddd5e0d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/author\/admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7553,"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7550\/revisions\/7553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munkhafadat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}