- For me, Dawit Isaak was a picture, a symbol and a counter that ticked. I wondered who the man Dawit Isaak was. That had gone away in the big-policy discussion about peace processes, sanctions and silent diplomacy, says Martin Schibbye.

Dawit Isaak worked as a journalist on Setit - Eritrea's first independent newspaper after the country had become independent. It was in connection with the newspaper publishing a call from the opposition demanding reform that Isaac was arrested. Dawit Isaak was imprisoned and has since become a symbol of the struggle for freedom of expression.

Wrote about unhappy love

But in the report book The Hunt for Dawit, Martin Schibbye widens the picture in conversation with Dawit Isaak's friends, colleagues and relatives in Eritrea and in Sweden.

- He was not a journalist from the beginning, but worked with drama, children's theater and poetry. In a time when many are writing patriotic songs about the War of Independence, he is writing novels about unhappy love.

The case of Dawit Isaak has created much debate over the years. Not least when it comes to what is called silent diplomacy. The critics argue that the Foreign Ministry should be sharper against the Eritrean government, while others believe that harsh words would only make matters worse.

In talks with both the Foreign Ministry and senior politicians in Eritrea, Martin Schibbye tries to understand how the two sides reason.

Reacts with the tags outward

- The picture I get when I interview Eritrean ministers is that there are no threats in the world that can make them change if they don't want to, on the contrary. A nation that was born out of a three-decade-long war and has had nine years of sanctions on it, reacts with the tags outward. The understanding of Eritrean leadership must be understood in order to understand how harsh words land.

At the same time, the opportunities for getting Dawit Isaak free have never been as great as they are now, says Martin Schibbye.

- All the issues that Eritrean ministers have said are the boulders on the road, the state of war with Ethiopia and the sanctions are now gone. This means that the conditions for addressing other issues are better than ever before.