ERITREA: Arrests of Christians Increasing

Source: Voice of the Martyrs USA, Release International, Amnesty International

Front-Line Workers report a sharp surge in the arrests of Christians in Eritrea in 2025, with almost no releases of existing prisoners. Since 1 January, more than 200 Believers have been taken into custody, raising the total number of imprisoned Christians to around 550—the highest in over five years.

Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afwerki, fears no man and bows to no authority. He rules with an iron fist and a communist mindset. Yet there is one thing he cannot ignore: God and those who dare to proclaim the Gospel. To silence them, he unleashes every weapon of oppression—arrest, imprisonment, and torture—sometimes stretching on for decades.

The “prisons” of Eritrea are among the harshest on earth. Believers are crammed into metal shipping containers left in the desert, baking in the heat by day and shivering in the cold at night. Others are taken underground to cells so starved of oxygen that silence is enforced, and prisoners collapse from suffocation. Torture is routine: beatings with iron rods, limbs bound behind backs for days, and heat punishment where Christians are forced to walk barefoot across scorching sand until their skin blisters and burns, with only one glass of water a day.

Many have endured this cruelty for decades, cut off from family and loved ones, surviving on meager rations and relentless abuse. According to Dr. Berhane Asmelash, the regime’s strategy is simple: to break the spirit of the Believer.

“Eritrea is like a giant prison,” he says. “The country is filled with jails. It is like North Korea.”

Some prisoners—such as Dr. Tecleab Menghisteab, Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, and Rev. Haile Naizgi—have been behind bars for over 20 years. Yet despite the darkness, the light of Christ refuses to be extinguished. The intimidation, the torture, the endless years in chains—none of it can stop the spread of the Gospel.

In Eritrea, there are no lukewarm Christians. Every Believer knows the cost, and every believer is all in. They are wholly surrendered, steadfast, and sold out for Jesus Christ.

• Pray for imprisoned Christians: Ask God to strengthen those enduring torture, deprivation, and isolation in Eritrean prisons. May they be sustained by His presence and not lose hope.

• Pray for their families: Many believers have been separated from loved ones for years, even decades. Pray for comfort, provision, and courage for their families as they wait and endure uncertainty.

• Pray for endurance and boldness: Lift up Eritrean believers to remain unshaken in their faith despite persecution, and that they would continue to live as bold witnesses for Christ.

• Pray for President Isaias Afwerki and the government: Ask God to transform the hearts of Eritrea’s leaders and bring about repentance, justice, and freedom for His people.

• Pray for the growth of the Church: Despite the prisons, torture, and intimidation, Christianity is flourishing in Eritrea. Pray that this fire of faith will continue to spread and draw many to salvation in Christ.