‘We demand the truth’: Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee lead calls for proof of life of disappeared Eritrean writers
More than 180 writers sign letter renewing calls for information on 12 authors detained incommunicado since 2001 crackdown on free speech by Isaias Afwerki
TL;DR
- Over 180 writers have signed a letter to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki demanding proof of life for 12 writers arrested in 2001.
- The signatories include Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and J.M. Coetzee, along with many other prominent authors.
- The letter marks 25 years since a government crackdown that "systematically crushed" Eritrea's free press.
- The 12 detained writers, including Amanuel Asrat and Dawit Isaak, have been held incommunicado.
- The writers' families and the global literary community have received only "painful and unlawful silence" regarding their health, location, and survival.
- The letter calls for "immediate, verified proof of life" and states that "no writer or journalist should be disappeared for peacefully expressing their views."
- Eritrea is described as a repressive dictatorship under Afwerki, with no national elections since 1993.
- PEN International will attempt to deliver the letter at the Eritrean embassy in London and has previously launched a public petition.
- PEN International's president, Burhan Sönmez, emphasized that they will not cease efforts until the writers are free.