Olympic Athlete and Several Eritreans Freed After Nearly Two Decades Without Trial, Family Members Report

Thirteen individuals detained for more than 18 years without being formally charged in Eritrea have been freed from a notorious military prison, according to family members of the detainees.

Among those freed were several well-known individuals, including 69-year-old Olympian cyclist and businessman Zeragaber Gebrehiwot.

They had been held at Mai Serwa detention center, renowned for its harsh conditions and where many detainees are considered detained for political reasons.

Circumstances Surrounding the Detention

A source who was previously held in Mai Serwa stated the prisoners were taken into custody in October 2007 following an assassination attempt on a high-ranking state security official in the government.

Approximately thirty individuals were initially detained, per the source. A number have been released over the years, but about 20 stayed imprisoned.

The Story of an Athlete

Zeragaber competed in the Moscow Games in 1980 when Eritrea was a region within Ethiopia.

The nation in the Horn of Africa, which achieved sovereignty from Ethiopia in 1993, has a strong cycling culture and its riders have increasingly earned international recognition in recent years.

List of Released

Those released with Zeragaber include notable entrepreneurs Tesfalem Mengsteab and Bekure Mebrahtu as well as the Habtemariam brothers - David, an technical professional, and Matthews, a surveyor.

Six senior police officers and an state security officer were also freed.

The Eritrean government has not issued any statement concerning the releases of the detainees.

A significant number of the former detainees are in poor health and this may be the reason why they have been freed now.

Families were not allowed to see the prisoners throughout their detention, the relatives reported.

International Condemnation and Prison Conditions

The UN and human rights groups have long accused the Eritrean government of gross human rights violations, including ill-treatment, forced disappearance and the detention of tens of thousands of people in inhumane conditions.

Mai Serwa facility, located about 9km north-west of the capital city, Asmara, has grown over the years to include 20 metal shipping containers in which prisoners are held incommunicado, according to reports.

Context of Government Rule

For the past thirty years, Eritrea has remained a single-party nation with no active constitutional framework. It is among the world's most militarized countries, with compulsory national service of unlimited duration.

There has been no free press since the closure of independent newspapers and arrest of most of their staff in 2001.

This occurred after the government detained 15 politicians known as the G-15, along with 16 journalists, after they demanded that the president implement the proposed constitution and conduct democratic polls.

According to rights groups, the status and location of 11 of the politicians, as well as the journalists allegedly having links to the G-15, remain unknown.

Aged 79, the president recently passed 32 years in power and has yet to participate in an electoral contest.