Sweden marks 15-year anniversary of journalist jailing in Eritrea
2016-09-23 19:20:02 Written by europeonline-magazine.eu Published in English Articles Read 2451 times-
font size
decrease font size
increase font size
Europe
23.09.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and 
Stockholm (dpa) - Supporters of Swedish journalist Dawit Isaak demonstrated Friday in commemoration of his 15th year in prison without trial in Eritrea.
Dawit Isaak, a Swedish national of Eritrean origin, was arrested September 23, 2001, amid a clampdown on independent newspapers by the authorities in the East African nation. Little has been heard from him since and he is not allowed visits.
"We will not give up until he is free," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told broadcaster TV4 after she met Thursday with her Eritrean counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
She described the anniversary as "a day of sorrow."
One of Isaak‘s three children, his oldest daughter, Bethelem Isaak, said she was convinced her father was still alive. She welcomed efforts seeking his release as well as "the many expressions of support."
Newspapers as well as radio and television stations also reported on his fate.
At the Stockholm Central Station, a support group set up a replica of a cell that Isaak, 51, is believed to be confined in, offering visitors to sit in it for 15-minute slots.
Isaak‘s fate was also highlighted at the ongoing book fair in the west coast city of Gothenburg, which this year has selected freedom of expression as its theme.
Isaak sought asylum in Sweden in 1987 and became a citizen in 1992. About eight years later he returned to Eritrea to work for the independent weekly Setit.
Eritrea ranks at the bottom of a list of 180 nations in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index compiled by the campaigning organization Reporters Without Borders.
Dawit Isaak, a Swedish national of Eritrean origin, was arrested September 23, 2001, amid a clampdown on independent newspapers by the authorities in the East African nation. Little has been heard from him since and he is not allowed visits.
"We will not give up until he is free," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told broadcaster TV4 after she met Thursday with her Eritrean counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
She described the anniversary as "a day of sorrow."
One of Isaak‘s three children, his oldest daughter, Bethelem Isaak, said she was convinced her father was still alive. She welcomed efforts seeking his release as well as "the many expressions of support."
Newspapers as well as radio and television stations also reported on his fate.
At the Stockholm Central Station, a support group set up a replica of a cell that Isaak, 51, is believed to be confined in, offering visitors to sit in it for 15-minute slots.
Isaak‘s fate was also highlighted at the ongoing book fair in the west coast city of Gothenburg, which this year has selected freedom of expression as its theme.
Isaak sought asylum in Sweden in 1987 and became a citizen in 1992. About eight years later he returned to Eritrea to work for the independent weekly Setit.
Eritrea ranks at the bottom of a list of 180 nations in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index compiled by the campaigning organization Reporters Without Borders.
