A bishop and two Catholic priests in the African country of Eritrea have been detained by state police, and so far authorities have not given a reason for their arrest.
According to the BBC, on October 15, Eritrean police arrested Bishop Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim at Asmara International Airport, when he returned from Europe. Bishop is 52 years old, is the Bishop of Segheneity diocese of the Eastern Rite Catholic Church. Local sources confirmed the news and told ACI Africa news agency.
Two Catholic priests, Father Mihretab Stephanos, pastor of St. Michael's parish in Segheneity diocese, and Father Abraham, a Capuchino order, were also arrested and held in Adi Abento prison along with Bishop Tsalim, the news agency reported. tons of Fides of the Ministry of Evangelism.
Local sources say clerics in Eritrea are accused of, in their sermons, often denouncing human rights abuses in the country, such as imprisoning relatives, encouraging discharged soldiers, arresting young people joined the army to send to the front, closed houses, confiscated livestock from those who refused to go to the battlefield.
In May of this year, dignitaries of various Christian organizations, based in the UK, expressed concern over "human rights abuses in Eritrea. In a letter to the Ambassador of Eritrea to the UK and Ireland, staff members of organizations such as Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Church in Chains and Caring for Human Rights (Human Rights in Eritrea) as well as the Eritrean Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, have denounced numerous human rights violations in Eritrea, the illegal detention of tens of thousands of people in the country and strict detention, including hundreds of Christians for their faith.
In August of this year, the Eritrean government confiscated the Agricultural Technical School, which has been run by the Lasallian Brothers for 23 years. The move is one of a series of confiscations in Eritrea since 2019, in the name of a 1995 law that limits the activities of religious organizations.
The bishops of Eritrea criticize the rule and say that the social services of the Catholic Church are not anti-government.