Eritrea or repression without borders

Death threats, physical assault, dissemination of lies: there are plenty of ways to harass and intimidate Eritrean nationals across borders. In an unpublished report entitled "Repression without borders", Amnesty International revealed at the end of June that moral and physical attacks were regularly perpetrated by supporters and officials of the Eritrean government against detractors of the regime.

>> To read: "Eritrea, 20 years of independence and dictatorship"

For many human rights defenders, "fleeing Eritrea has not given them much respite from the repression they were trying to escape - a flight in which many of them lose their lives", said Joan Nyanyuki, Director of the Southern Africa, Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Program at Amnesty International. "They are constantly looking behind and watching each other, out of fear of the Eritrean government, which has a long arm and extends its repression across borders."

Eritrea, a unique case

Admittedly, Asmara is not the only country to violate human rights. On the other hand, "what makes the situation of Eritrea unique is the ability and commitment of the government and its supporters to target the diaspora in a coordinated and regular way," says Fisseha Tekle, researcher and expert on Eritrea, in an interview with France 24.

In his study, Amnesty details that these attacks are particularly prevalent in Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where the Eritrean diaspora is the largest. "These practices of Eritrean power are not new," said the specialist who participated in the study as a researcher, and while evidence of President Issayas's crackdown in his country has existed since 2001, proven case of aggression abroad dates back to 2011 in Sweden. "

Informants Abroad, Extension of a Dictatorial Regime

The study, which covers the period from 2011 to May 2019, is particularly the responsibility of members of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (FPDJ), party of Issayas Afewerki in power since April 1991, including the youth section of the party, the FPJDJ. These young recruits, a legacy of the country's Marxist Revolution, "fight against the country's enemies," spy on other Eritrean human rights defenders and activists in Europe and the United States.

The phenomenon has reached the courts in the Netherlands. In February 2016, the Dutch court ruled on a defamation case in Amsterdam, concluding that "FPJDJ members act as informants for the [embassies] of the regime in Eritrea, so the FPJDJ can at this stage, to be qualified as an extension of a dictatorial regime. "

Winta Yemane, a young Eritrean born in Italy and eager to reconnect with her African roots, has borne the brunt of this young people. The study of the NGO reports in its study the case of this young woman who joined the youth section of the FPDJ when she was in high school and participated in its annual conference in Oslo, Norway. When the latter took the floor to express her views on the Constitution, human rights, she quickly met with a shower of reproaches. Its critics accused it of being "a victim of misinformation orchestrated by Western propaganda and the enemies of Eritrea ... [...] Three of the organizers even threatened to expel him from the conference," he said. she told Amnesty International.

Worse, on returning to her home in Milan, the young woman was followed for several weeks, received threatening calls from unknown numbers and was the target of a smear campaign on social networks.

The law of silence

But Eritrean nationals do not have the exclusivity of the intimidations of the regime of Issayas. Some prominent journalists or personalities who are critical of Eritrean power are also regularly threatened with death threats. On November 30, 2018, Martin Plaut, a former BBC Africa journalist, was caught in a trap at the British Library in London, after critical work on Eritrea. The journalist was sprinkled with a bucket full of liquid and treated as "traitor". The Eritrean ambassador to Japan, Estifanos Afeworki, later welcomed this act on Twitter. The episode could almost smile if some did not go through more dramatic experiences.

I will be on @AJEnglish at 14.30 London time talking about my experiences of being attacked by an Eritrean government supporter - an attack mentioned in the latest Amensty International report

Asmara is not content with any aggression. Its citizens must also pay a 2% tax on their income from abroad. "If they do not comply, the consequences are very serious for family members who remain in the country: they incarcerate and in Eritrea, the prison is disappearing," says France 24 Professor Alain Gascon Honorary at the Geographical Institute of Paris-VIII University. For its part, the regime defends itself to levy a tax on expatriates and prefers to counter-attack by qualifying this accusation of anti-erythrean "propaganda".

The government uses its embassies and consulates to annihilate the opposition, "which does not exist anywhere," said the French professor.Assayas came to power by eliminating all his opponents. to the same method: he makes terror prevail in his country and beyond the borders.Today, few Eritreans exiles who wish to pour out on this problem.