2016 prison census - Eritrea: Idris Abba Arre
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 1 December 2016 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016 prison census - Eritrea: Idris Abba Arre, 1 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/586cb8a613.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
| Idris Abba Arre, Tsigenay | |
|---|---|
| Medium: | |
| Charge: | No charge |
| Imprisoned: | September 2001 |
Idris was a contributor to the privately owned weekly Tsigenay and also worked as a reporter at the Eritrean Ministry of Education. In either August or September 2001, Idris wrote an article in Tsigenay that criticized the government's policy of educating individuals in the mother tongue, according to Eritrean journalists in exile. The journalists said he was arrested because of the article.
The exact date of the arrest is unknown, but the journalists said they believed he had been arrested in September 2001. Authorities have not disclosed Idris' whereabouts or any charges against him, and the state of his health is unknown.
Idris did not appear on CPJ's census of imprisoned journalists prior to 2014. His case only came to the organization's attention as part of a fresh investigation in 2014 into the status of long-held prisoners in Eritrea.
When asked in a June 2016 interview with Radio France International about the status of journalists and politicians arrested in 2001, Eritrean Foreign Affairs Minister Osman Saleh said "all of them are alive" and they "are in good hands." Asked if they would face trial, Osman said they would, "when the government decides" since members of the group are "political prisoners."
CPJ emailed the Eritrean Information Ministry in October 2016 to request an update in Idris's case. The ministry did not respond.
