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C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000708 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR CASC ER
SUBJECT: AMERICAN BABY DETAINED FOR FOUR NIGHTS IN ERITREAN 
PRISON 
 
REF: ASMARA 0619 
 
Classified By: CDA Jennifer McIntyre, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
 ¶1. (C) On August 31, Poloff received an inquiry from an 
American citizen father informing post that his two-month old 
son and the child,s mother, Senait Solomon, an Eritrean 
citizen were being detained in Dekemhare, about 40km from 
Asmara.  Upon learning of the detention, Poloff contacted the 
mother,s employer, UNMEE, and the mother,s family.  The 
family related that on August 29 at about 1400, two Eritrean 
officials in civilian clothing came to the mother,s home and 
asked to speak with her.  Without informing her why, the 
officials told her she needed to come to the Asmara Police 
Central Headquarters for questioning.  She told them she had 
an infant child whom she was breastfeeding, and they agreed 
that she could bring the child with her.  She departed her 
home with one of the men in the Eritrean authorities, 
vehicle, and the second man drove her personal vehicle. 
Senait,s mother followed them to the police station and saw 
Senait,s vehicle there.  When she inquired about Senait and 
the child, the police told her there was no record of Senait 
being at the headquarters. 
 
2) (C) Around 1900, Senait called her mother and told her she 
was being held in Dekemhare for an unknown reason.  She asked 
her mother to come the following day with clothes for herself 
and the child.  The mother visited Senait and the child on 
August 30 providing clothes and food.  The mother reported 
that she met with Senait in a room with prison officials 
constantly present and there was no privacy.  On August 31, 
the mother returned to Dekemhare to deliver food, however, 
she was unable to speak with Senait directly. 
 
3) (C) On August 31, post submitted a diplomatic note to the 
GSE Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting permission for 
Conoff to visit the child and his mother. GSE regulations 
require that the Embassy officers have approval to enter 
detention facilities and permission to travel outside of 
Asmara.  Soon after receiving the diplomatic note the 
Director of Protocol called the embassy and said that Senait 
had been released from detention and "should be home right 
now."  When contacted, family members were unaware of any 
release.  Post tried to contact the MFA duty officer on the 
morning of September 1 however no one answered the duty line. 
 
 
4) (C) In following up with the family, Consular staff 
learned that Senait and the child were not released on August 
31, as claimed by the Director of Protocol, but that she and 
the child returned home in the early afternoon on September 
¶1.  Poloff spoke with Senait over the telephone shortly after 
her return and she agreed to come into the Consular Section 
on September 5 to meet with Poloff. 
 
5) (C) Coincidentally, Charge had a previously planned lunch 
on September 1 with the MFA Director General for the 
Americas, Girma Asmerom.  When she asked for his assistance 
and noted the lack of response from the MFA duty number, he 
expressed his doubts that the "national security people" 
would grant approval, shrugged off the non-availability of 
the MFA duty officer as an expected state of affairs and 
noted that he could probably get an answer on 
Monday(September 4). 
 
6) (U) Comment:  The incident reinforces post's concerns 
about the consular section's ability to provide full services 
to American citizens, particularly outside of Asmara. 
Should the situation have continued, post believes the GSE 
would not have provided the necessary permissions to visit 
the child and mother, and that the GSE would cite the child's 
Eritrean citizenship and refuse to recognize his American 
citizenship. (REFTEL reports other cases where dual nationals 
have experienced problems.) Furthermore, no American Embassy 
direct hire staff has been permitted to enter an Eritrean 
prison or detention facility in a number of years.  With 
regards to the mother,s detention, the arrest of Eritreans 
without cause and the detention without an explanation is 
quite common.  There are reports of cases where individuals 
have been held indefinitely, in some cases for years, without 
ever being charged or convicted of a crime.  End Comment. 
MCINTYRE