ERITREA COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT COI Service 17 August 2012 ERITREA 17 AUGUST 2012 Contents Preface Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 1.01 Map ........................................................................................................................ 1.04 2. ECONOMY ................................................................................................................ 2.01 3. HISTORY ................................................................................................................. 3.01 British rule to national independence (1949 to 1993) ........................................ 3.01 Political developments (1994 to 2002) ................................................................ 3.04 War and border dispute with Ethiopia (1998 to 2009) ....................................... 3.10 Relations with Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan (2008 to 2011) ............................. 3.13 Opposition political developments (2004 to 2011) ............................................ 3.19 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (DECEMBER 2011 – JULY 2012) .......................................... 4.01 5. CONSTITUTION .......................................................................................................... 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM ................................................................................................... 6.01 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 7.01 8. SECURITY FORCES .................................................................................................... 8.01 Police ..................................................................................................................... 8.01 Armed forces ........................................................................................................ 8.02 Human rights violations by government forces ................................................ 8.05 Arbitrary arrest and detention ............................................................................. 8.05 Torture ................................................................................................................ 8.07 Extra-judicial killings ........................................................................................... 8.11 Avenues of complaint .......................................................................................... 8.14 9. NATIONAL SERVICE (INCLUDING MILITARY SERVICE) ..................................................... 9.01 Background .......................................................................................................... 9.01 National Service Proclamation 82/1995 .............................................................. 9.04 National service in practice ................................................................................. 9.16 Payment for national service ............................................................................... 9.23 Penalties for evading national service ............................................................... 9.27 Legal penalties ................................................................................................... 9.27 Punishment of relatives of national service evaders .......................................... 9.30 Round-ups (‘Giffas’) ............................................................................................. 9.33 Authorised leave ................................................................................................... 9.38 Conscientious objection ...................................................................................... 9.39 Students and conscription .................................................................................. 9.41 Exemptions ........................................................................................................... 9.44 Exemption of women .......................................................................................... 9.45 Exemption on medical grounds .......................................................................... 9.48 Exemption of religious clerics ............................................................................. 9.51 Detention of national service conscripts ........................................................... 9.53 Demobilisation ...................................................................................................... 9.55 10. JUDICIARY ................................................................................................................ 10.01 Organisation ......................................................................................................... 10.01 Independence ....................................................................................................... 10.04 ii The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 1 August 2012. AUGUST 2012 ERITREA Fair trial ................................................................................................................. 10.07 11. ARREST AND DETENTION - LEGAL RIGHTS ................................................................... 11.01 12. PRISON AND DETENTION CENTRE CONDITIONS ............................................................. 12.01 Location of prisons and detention centres ........................................................ 12.06 13. DEATH PENALTY ....................................................................................................... 13.01 14. POLITICAL AFFILIATION ............................................................................................. 14.01 Freedom of political expression .......................................................................... 14.01 Freedom of association and assembly ............................................................... 14.03 Membership of the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) ........... 14.04 Opposition groups and political activists .......................................................... 14.05 15. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA ............................................................................... 15.01 Overview ............................................................................................................... 15.01 Media organisations ............................................................................................ 15.05 Internet .................................................................................................................. 15.06 Journalists ............................................................................................................ 15.09 16. HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVISTS .................................... 16.01 17. CORRUPTION ............................................................................................................ 17.01 18. FREEDOM OF RELIGION .............................................................................................. 18.01 Overview ............................................................................................................... 18.01 Religious demography ......................................................................................... 18.03 Restrictions ........................................................................................................... 18.04 Christian Pentecostals and Evangelicals ........................................................... 18.08 Jehovah’s Witnesses ........................................................................................... 18.12 Muslims ................................................................................................................. 18.14 Orthodox Church of Eritrea ................................................................................. 18.16 19. ETHNIC GROUPS ....................................................................................................... 19.01 Languages ............................................................................................................ 19.03 Government and societal attitudes ..................................................................... 19.06 20. LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PERSONS .............................. 20.01 21. WOMEN ................................................................................................................... 21.01 Legal rights ........................................................................................................... 21.01 Political rights ....................................................................................................... 21.02 Social and economic rights ................................................................................. 21.04 Violence against women ...................................................................................... 21.14 National service .................................................................................................. 21.17 Available protection ............................................................................................ 21.21 Reproductive health and rights ........................................................................... 21.22 22. CHILDREN ...............................................................................................................