For 25 years, Eritrea has forcibly disappeared 12 writers
18 September 2026 will mark a quarter-century since 12 Eritrean writers and journalists were arbitrarily arrested and disappeared into prison, simply for speaking out. It happened in 2001, when President Isaias Afwerki shut down all independent media and crushed calls for peaceful reform, as the world’s attention was drawn elsewhere.
Since then, they have been held in secret—without charge, without trial, and without contact. Eritrean authorities continue to refuse to say where they are or whether they are even alive.
Some of these writers and journalists are also poets, translators, playwrights, song writers and art critics and they include: Amanuel Asrat; Dawit Habtemichael; Dawit Isaak; Fessehaye ‘Joshua’ Yohannes; Matheos Habteab; Methanie Haile; Sahle ‘Wedi-ltay’ Tsefezab; Said Abdelkadir; Said Idris ‘Aba Are’; Seyoum Tsehaye; Temesken Ghebreyesus; and Yousif Mohammed Ali. They are among the most important voices of Eritrea’s independent culture and media. Their continued disappearance is a deliberate attempt to erase dissent and silence a generation.
PEN International, PEN Eritrea in Exile, and PEN Centres worldwide demand proof of life—now.
We refuse to let these writers vanish.
Learn about the 12 Eritrean writers
Message of Solidarity: Ben Okri's Letter
“We are holding candles for you in the Eritrean darkness. We will not let your names or your struggles be forgotten. We here at PEN INTERNATIONAL will go on making a big noise and raising a global racket till you are freed and every last one of you is accounted for.”
Image Credit: Roberk Brooks