This month Eritrea ‘celebrates' its 20th year of independence – yet it remains one of the most secretive and repressive countries in the world. On Thursday 9 May, Amnesty International is releasing a report looking at how President Isaias Afewerki has systematically used arrest and indefinite detention in hellish conditions to stifle all dissent in the country. Amnesty estimates that at least 10,000 political prisoners have been locked away by the regime over the past two decades. Many are never heard of again. There is an extensive network of detention facilities in Eritrea – some are well known, others are secret. But the extreme opaqueness around detention procedures in the country means the exact number is unknown. The report contains some very graphic testimonies from former detainees and accounts of people who were held in underground cells or shipping containers in the desert. BN
