'I don't even know if my parents are alive' - the war heroes jailed 25 years ago
The children of key politicians jailed 25 years ago without a trace in Eritrea want answers.
Hanna Petros Solomon, a war hero from Eritrea, is left in despair after losing both her parents to imprisonment 25 years ago. Her father, Petros Solomon, was a senior leader during the liberation war that gained Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia in 1993. He was one of the 15 political figures known as the G-15 who demanded a constitution and national elections after the country's independence. Isaias Afewerki, Eritrea's President at the time, did not appreciate the G-15's request and took severe action against them.
On the night of September 18, 2001, security forces detained Petros and 11 other high-ranking officials in Asmara. Hanna and her siblings were unaware of their father's whereabouts until weeks later when their classmates told them he had 'sold out his country.' Her mother, Aster Yohannes, was studying in the US at the time and received distressing news when her daughter returned from school.
Aster, who had been in a bad state, insisted on returning to Eritrea to be with her children. However, she was denied entry and held captive in Karshelli prison, while Petros was detained in Ela-Ero, a secretive and remote prison in Eritrea's eastern lowlands.
Hanna, now 35, is still haunted by the loss of her parents and the traumatic experience that tore her family apart. The government has refused to address the BBC's inquiries about the prisoners' whereabouts, leaving Hanna and her siblings in a state of perpetual uncertainty.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
