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| Africa: Horn |
| Eritrean Moslems Debate With Eritrean Christians About Religon |
| 2005-09-08 |
| From Compass Direct Eritrean police arrested a bridal couple from the banned Hallelujah Church along with their 18 wedding guests on Sunday night, dragging them to jail because they are âPentesâ (Pentecostals), authorities said. The seven women and 13 men were attending a private wedding ceremony on September 4 in the home of the bride when Asmara police raided the house. Breaking into the traditional wedding tent of the groom, Mengesteab Tesfamariam, the police took him into custody along with his bride, Berekti Keshi Almaze, and their best men and bridesmaids. Jailed at Police Station No. 5 in Asmara, the 20 prisoners included two key leaders of the Hallelujah Church, Aklilu Habteab and Kashay Imbaye, as well as Zerit Gebreneguse, an evangelist in the Philadelphia Church. The Hallelujah Church reportedly had taken careful precautions to avoid attracting the attention of local officials, who in recent months have escalated their raids on weddings conducted by Protestant congregations that have been closed. Sundayâs ceremony was conducted in a private home, with only a few close friends invited and none of the usual singing or other noticeable Christian activities. But somehow police learned about the wedding, arriving just as the ceremony was beginning. So far relatives and friends of the jailed guests have not been allowed access to the prisoners. A total of 17 Protestant pastors are now jailed in Eritrea, where worshippers from any Christian community outside the government-recognized Orthodox, Catholic or Lutheran churches have been subject to arrest since May 2002. At least 1,000 evangelical church members are known to be in custody in prisons, police stations and military confinement camps across Eritrea for refusing, after arrest, to sign documents recanting their faith. Many are held in solitary confinement and subjected to regular beatings and more severe forms of torture. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #1 "Our arguments come from the Sermon on the Mount." "Our arguments come from the AK-47." [BANG!][BANG!] "Allahu Akhbar! We win!" |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-09-08 15:58 |