Eritrea has been described as the second worst place on earth for Christians to live, after North Korea.
President Isaias Afewerki has been in power since the country’s independence in 1993 and there have been no elections since then. The country’s citizens are subject to mass surveillance and arbitrary arrest, causing them to live in constant fear. After reaching the age of about 16, boys and girls are called up for an indefinite period of military service that is effectively a form of slave labour.
Thousands in prison
Some Christian denominations are accepted by the government, but Christians belonging to other denominations are not permitted to meet together and are frequently arrested. An estimated 1,200 – 3,000 people are currently in prison on religious grounds, most of them Christians.
