PERSECUTION WATCH:Eritrean police arrest more Christians

Eritrea-Ten more Christians have been arrested in Eritrea's capital, and a pastor has been missing since August 12.Family members say Pastor Leule Gebreab of Asmara's Apostolic Church did not return home to his family on that Sunday. Gebreab, 35, is married with two children, an 8-year-old son and an infant daughter.About two weeks later, police arrested 10 members of the Full Gospel Church who had gathered in a home in the Kahawata suburb of Asmara.Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton says it's the latest crackdown in a place where 2000 Christians are imprisoned and often tortured. "None of these people has had a trial of any kind. None of them have been allowed legal representation, and none of them has actually had written charges filed against them. They've simply been picked up and put into the prison system there in Eritrea." Yet, Eritrea denies the abuse of human rights, saying the repression of Christians falls under keeping the law of the land. In the past, the Catholic Church was officially recognized as one of the nation's four historic religions.However, Open Doors reports another recent development in the plight of the church.Eritrean authorities have now issued an ultimatum to Catholic church leaders, ordering that all the church's schools, clinics, orphanages and women's vocational training centers be turned over to the government's Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor. There are extenuating circumstances (regarding clergy serving in the military) and a long history of defiance of government demands (claims under Vatican authority), but the precedent is disconcerting.Still, Nettleton says they are committed to supporting the evangelical church there. "We have been able to assist the church there, through help to the families of those who are imprisoned. We've also been involved in translating some books and Christian material. So we've been able to provide some tools for the Eritrean church to help them not only survive during this time, but really to thrive."
Source:MNN

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