'Taped mouths' protest for jailed Eritrean journalists planned today
Protesters in London to tape mouths shut in support of incarcerated journalists in Eritrea
At 3pm on Friday 23 September, demonstrators will gather at King’s Cross in a show of support for journalists, government opponents, and leaders of the former liberation movement who remain incarcerated in Eritrea. This week marks the 15 year anniversary of Eritrean President I
’s brutal crackdown on his critics, who disappeared along with their demands for democracy, rule of law, and freedom of the press. The protestors will hold up the names of Eritrean prisoners as part of a wider campaign to raise awareness of their continued incarceration. Similar silent protests are being held at several locations around the world.
On 18, 19 and 21 September 2001, Eritrea’s former liberation movement leaders, known as the ‘G15’, and 11 editors and journalists were forcibly disappeared. Some have died, and others have remained imprisoned; incommunicado for 15 years. The crackdown marked the end of a once-vibrant free press in Eritrea, which has lacked any form of privately owned media since 2001. In 2016, Eritrea was ranked last in the world, behind North Korea, in the press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders.
The protesters hope that media coverage of their event in the UK will draw attention to the plight of those inside Eritrea that the regime has worked so hard to stifle.
The demonstration will also promote the findings of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, which published its final report in June 2016. The Commission finds the regime guilty of crimes against humanity, includingenslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, persecution, rape, murder and other inhumane acts. Mr Mike Smith, Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry, told the Human Rights Council that “Eritrea has neither the political will nor the institutional capacity to prosecute the crimes we have documented”, and calls upon the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.
It is hoped that the demonstration at King’s Cross will apply pressure on the government to support the COI’s recommendations.
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For the full UN COI report, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIEritrea/Pages/2016ReportCoIEritrea.aspx
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