EGN NEWS DESK
Appeals have been made to the worldwide group to place strain on Eritrea to uphold spiritual liberty after the loss of life of a church chief in jail.
Rev Ghirmay Araya was one of many founding fathers of the Full Gospel Church in Eritrea and was arrested and jailed for his religion in 2021, regardless of by no means being charged with any crime.
He died final week aged 83 whereas nonetheless being held on the maximum-security Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Centre.
His supporters informed Release International, a charity supporting persecuted Christians, that Rev Araya “endured his struggling with steadfast religion”.
Release International accomplice Dr Berhane Asmelash mentioned he was “deeply saddened” by Rev Araya’s loss of life.
“Rev Ghirmay served the church diligently for greater than 60 years in each Eritrea and Ethiopia. His ministry prolonged throughout the Orthodox, Lutheran, and at last Full Gospel church buildings,” he mentioned.
Rev Araya is survived by 5 youngsters and 13 grandchildren. Local sources say that one in every of his sons, a Lutheran minister, is at the moment imprisoned in a transport container.
It is believed that there are lots of of different Christians in jail in Eritrea. Dr Asmelash mentioned that many are “getting on in age and undergo from numerous well being circumstances”. He is looking on the worldwide group to behave.
“All our calls to the federal government of Eritrea have fallen on deaf ears. So I name on the worldwide group and fellow believers to place strain on the federal government about making an attempt to cease this barbaric act towards individuals who have carried out nothing fallacious,” he mentioned.
Dr Asmelash has simply revealed his biography, Brother, I Have Come to Arrest You, which tells the story of his personal arrest and imprisonment due to his Christian religion.
The ebook is endorsed by Fiona Bruce MP, vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, who mentioned “the world ought to know of the struggling and bravado of hundreds of Eritreans, barbarically imprisoned, tortured, and killed – merely on account of their beliefs”.
“And to know that that is occurring proper now, within the third decade of the twenty first century,” she mentioned.
“This is just not low-cost grace,” she added.
Release International CEO Paul Robinson mentioned: “This is a outstanding account of the significance – and chance – of standing sturdy within the religion beneath probably the most appalling of circumstances, because the tragic loss of life of Rev Ghirmay Araya serves as an instance.
“As Fiona Bruce and Dr Berhane remind us, there isn’t any such factor as low-cost grace. And this ebook serves as a wake-up name to the Church within the free world, to actually worth our freedom and to make use of it successfully for the Gospel.”
