Founder Eritrea’s Gospel Church Dies In Detention
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ASMARA (Worthy News) – Reverend Ghirmay Araya, one of the founders of the Full Gospel Church in Eritrea who spent nearly three years behind bars for activities linked to his faith in Christ, has died, supporters told Worthy News late Thursday. He was 83.
After facing previous prosecution, Ghirmay was rearrested in July 2021 and detained without charge at a maximum-security facility in Asmara, Christians told Worthy News.
“It was recently announced that, after spending almost three years in detention, he passed away in prison,” said advocacy group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC).“It was said that he ‘endured his suffering with steadfast faith,’” told Worthy News.
Under the country’s “oppressive regime,” the denomination was banned in 2002, and its senior leaders were imprisoned in 2004, added Christians who asked for prayers.
Over the decades since, thousands of other Eritreans have been detained for their faith, often enduring torture and inhumane treatment, according to human rights activists and Christian sources. The pastor leaves behind five children and 13 grandchildren.
One of Ghirmay’s sons, Samuel, has also been imprisoned “due to his ministry as a Lutheran pastor,” VOMC recalled.
“Though the father and son had been detained in the same facility, they could never visit one other. Sources also state that prison officials did not inform Samuel of his father’s passing,” the group added.
JAILED SON
The imprisoned son is presently being held in a metal shipping container – “a notoriously inhumane practice where prisoners are forced to suffer extreme desert temperatures and unsanitary conditions,” VOMC added.
Berhane Asmelash, who heads the rights group Release Eritrea, said he is among hundreds of other Christians presently imprisoned in the country, some of whom are in the same facility where Ghirmay died.”Many are getting on in age and suffer from various health conditions,” he wrote.
Most of these detained believers are being held without charge, and some have been in custody for as long as 20 years, according to rights activists and Christians.
Referring to the late pastor, VOMC said it has urged its supporters to “Prayerfully uphold the family of this beloved saint as they mourn his passing.”
The group added that it hopes the family will “be wonderfully comforted by the assurance that Reverend Ghirmay is now in the glorious presence of his Savior,” referring to Christ.
It also asked its supporters to “pray for greatly needed physical and spiritual fortitude on behalf of his son Samuel and the many other Eritrean followers of Jesus who remain incarcerated because of their faith.”
INTENSE PERSECUTION
VOMC said it remains in prayerful expectation that “Eritrea’s governing leaders would end their intense persecution of the country’s Christians, release all those who are currently being arbitrarily detained, and put policies into place that will respect the rights of all Eritrean citizens.”
Eritrea has lingered for years in the top 10 of the World Watch List of 50 nations where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face most persecution.
Known as the “North Korea of Africa” due to “its intense authoritarian government,” Eritrea only recognizes three Christian denominations (Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Lutheran), Open Doors said.
“So anyone who follows Jesus outside of these sanctioned churches is at constant risk. Even in the recognized churches, the government closely monitors every congregation,” the group stressed.
Speaking out about the reported persecution of Christians or government interference in churches is not tolerated in Eritrea, a one-party state and highly militarised society, Christians said.
Autocratic President Isaias Afwerki, who has governed Eritrea since it became an independent country in 1993, has sought to justify his policies by citing the threat of war with Ethiopia.
Afwerki has denied human rights abuses despite mounting evidence of the situation in prisons and other detention centers and camps. There are no signs that he is preparing for resignation: Presidential elections planned for 1997 never took place, and a constitution ratified in the same year has never been implemented in the country of 6.2 million people.
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