{"id":8076,"date":"2017-01-19T08:04:24","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T08:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitederitreamedia.com\/blog12\/?p=8076"},"modified":"2017-01-19T08:13:07","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T08:13:07","slug":"eritrea-release-patriarch-abune-antonios-immediate-release-january-18-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/unitederitreamedia.com\/blog12\/2017\/01\/19\/eritrea-release-patriarch-abune-antonios-immediate-release-january-18-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Eritrea: Release Patriarch Abune Antonios \u00a0 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 18, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 January 20, 2017 marks the 11-year anniversary of the Eritrean government\u2019s illegal removal of Abune Antonios as the rightful Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church,<\/div>\n
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the nation\u2019s largest religious community. The Patriarch has been detained since 2007: His \u201ccrime\u201d was his refusal to excommunicate 3,000 parishioners who opposed the government.<\/div>\n

\u201cThe U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom<\/em><\/strong> (USCIRF) calls on the Eritrean government to release Abune Antonios, allow him to return to his position as Patriarch, and cease its interference in the Eritrean Orthodox Church,<\/em><\/strong>\u201d said USCIRF Chair Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. \u201cThe government\u2019s persecution of Patriarch Antonios is only one example of the <\/em><\/strong>country\u2019s grave religious freedom violations. Eritrea has been called the North Korea of Africa due to its vigorous assault on the rights of its people:\u00a0 Thousands are imprisoned for their religious beliefs and their real or imagined opposition to the government.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

One year after removing the Patriarch, Eritrean authorities confiscated his personal pontifical insignia. On May 27, 2007, the Eritrean government forcibly removed Patriarch Antonios from his home and placed him under house arrest at an undisclosed location. He remains detained and is denied medical care despite severe heath concerns.<\/p>\n

Chair Reese has taken up the case of Patriarch Antonios as part of USCIRF\u2019s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.<\/p>\n

The Eritrean government engages in systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom, including torture or other ill treatment of religious prisoners, arbitrary arrests and detentions without charges, a prolonged ban on public religious activities of unregistered religious groups, and interference in the internal affairs of registered religious groups.<\/p>\n

President Isaias Afwerki and the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) have ruled Eritrea with absolute authority since the country\u2019s 1993 independence from Ethiopia. Private newspapers, political opposition parties, and independent nongovernmental organizations are not allowed in Eritrea.\u00a0 The government requires all physically and mentally capable people between the ages of 18 and 70 to perform national service full-time and indefinitely.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea concluded that Eritrean authorities had committed crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n

Since 2004, USCIRF has recommended, and the State Department has designated, Eritrea a \u201ccountry of particular concern,\u201d or CPC, for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. For more information, please see USCIRF\u2019s chapter on Eritrea<\/a> in the 2016 Annual Report.<\/p>\n

USCIRF\u2019s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project highlights the plight of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices or identity. To learn more about this project or to interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at\u00a0media@uscirf.gov<\/a>\u00a0or 202-523-3258.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0 WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 January 20, 2017 marks the 11-year anniversary of the Eritrean government\u2019s illegal removal of Abune Antonios as the rightful Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the nation\u2019s largest religious community. The Patriarch has been detained since 2007: His \u201ccrime\u201d was his refusal to excommunicate 3,000 parishioners who opposed the government. \u201cThe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.1359999999999998987476601541857235133647918701171875,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3000000000000000444089209850062616169452667236328125,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.67849999999999999200639422269887290894985198974609375,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92000000000000003996802888650563545525074005126953125,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.84999999999999997779553950749686919152736663818359375,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.1999999999999999555910790149937383830547332763671875,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open Sans","_ml_wooPriceFontSize":0.90000000000000002220446049250313080847263336181640625,"_ml_wooPriceFontWeight":"400","_ml_wooPriceLineHeight":1.270000000000000017763568394002504646778106689453125,"_ml_headingColor":"#000","_ml_headingFont":"Merriweather","_ml_headingFontSize":2.020000000000000017763568394002504646778106689453125,"_ml_headingFontWeight":"700","_ml_headingLineHeight":1.4699999999999999733546474089962430298328399658203125,"_mlglobal_userfontcolors":{"headingColorUser":[],"titleColorUser":[],"metaColorUser":[],"bodyColorUser":[],"wooPriceColorUser":[]},"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nEritrea: Release Patriarch Abune Antonios \u00a0 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 18, 2017 - UNITED ERITREA MEDIA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eritrea: Release Patriarch Abune Antonios \u00a0 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 18, 2017 - UNITED ERITREA MEDIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0 WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 January 20, 2017 marks the 11-year anniversary of the Eritrean government\u2019s illegal removal of Abune Antonios as the rightful Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the nation\u2019s largest religious community. 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