13 Eritrean Christians Released from Prison

BARTLESVILLE, Okla., Aug. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Voice of the Martyrs has confirmed 13 Eritrean Christians were released from prison late last month.

These Christian believers, seven women and six men, had been falsely imprisoned for 10 years. Due to security concerns, names of the released prisoners have yet to be made public.

On July 22nd, VOM sent an email calling on Christians to commit to pray for the release of two Eritrean church leaders on their 7,000th day in prison. VOM also provided information to help Christians email or fax the Eritrean embassy on behalf of imprisoned Christians.

In the days following, more than 10,000 people responded to the email and declared their intention to pray for imprisoned Christians in Eritrea. Just six days later, VOM received word about the release of these 13 believers from local ministry partners inside the country.

Pastor Haile Nayzgi and Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, the imprisoned pastors who were the focus of the July 22 email, were not among the released Christians.

"We thank the Lord for the freedom of these brothers and sisters who have been released from prison in Eritrea. We thank Him for intervening on behalf of these 13," said Todd Nettleton, VOM's spokesperson, who met with and interviewed Christians in Eritrea in 2004.

Nettleton expressed gratitude for the 10,000 who responded to the ministry's email and encouraged believers to continue praying.

"Don't stop praying," he said. "There are still more than 300 Christians in Eritrean prisons. Don't stop being a voice for them to the Eritrean embassy. Go today and add your name to the list of those who are committed to pray. Share it with a friend. Share it with your whole church. Share it with your whole Bible study group. Share it with somebody who will join you to pray for more prisoners to be released, including Pastor Haile and Dr. Kiflu."

According to The Voice of the Martyrs' 2023 Global Prayer Guide, Eritrea is classified as a "restricted nation" due to the government's ongoing persecution of Christians. All churches outside the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran denominations were ordered to close by the government in 2002.

Since 1997, VOM has tracked persecution of Christians and designated nations or areas where followers of Christ regularly face persecution as either "restricted" or "hostile" in their annual prayer resource.

Add your name online at vom.org/eritreanprisoners.

SOURCE The Voice of the Martyrs