CPJ demands proof of life for 16 Eritrean journalists
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists demands that Eritrean authorities reveal the fate of the 16 missing journalists of the 'Eritrea 16' and release those still detained. At a public tribute in Nairobi, the organisation recalled that it will award them its 2026 press freedom prize, according to the CPJ.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on Eritrean authorities to provide proof of life for the 'Eritrea 16', a group of journalists detained since 2001 whose fate remains unknown. At a public tribute held in Kenya, the CPJ also calls for the immediate release of those still detained. 'For a quarter of a century, families have received no answer about the fate of their loved ones,' said CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg.
In August, the CPJ announced it would present these sixteen journalists with its 2026 International Press Freedom Award. Among them are Amanuel Asrat, Dawit Isaak and Seyoum Tsehaye. At the Carlos Cardoso memorial conference in Nairobi on Tuesday, former Eritrean political prisoner Yirgalem Fisseha, a journalist, paid tribute to her mentor Amanuel Asrat, an editor-in-chief detained in 2001. She read a letter addressed to him, in which she asks: 'Does anyone still remember me?'
