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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASMARA 000540 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2017 
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGO ER
SUBJECT: PRESBYTERIANS RELEASED, TELL A STRANGE TALE 
 
REF: ASMARA 421 
 
Classified By: CDA Jennifer A. McIntyre for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: During the week of May 28, the Government of 
the State of Eritrea (GSE) released on bail the last seven 
church members of the Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian 
church.  The members had been detained since their arrest on 
April 29 (reftel).  During a meeting with Poloff on June 15, 
church leader Rev. Zecharias Abraham detailed the cause for 
their arrest and the machinations that occurred to secure 
their release.  In a bizarre story of religious politics, 
Rev. Zecharias identified Rev. Asfaha Mehari, the leader of 
the Evangelical Lutheran Church (one of four registered 
religious institutions in Eritrea), as the instigator for the 
arrests.  According to Rev. Zecharias, GSE officials told him 
that Rev. Asfaha triggered the arrests by sending a letter to 
the Eritrean police alleging that the Mehrete Yesus church 
was pro-Ethiopian and a front for U.S. intelligence 
activities.  A month-long tussle ensued between the GSE's 
Office of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Defense, National 
Security Office,  Office of the President and the police to 
resolve the issue.  This unverifiable, yet believable story 
is an excellent example of how a climate of fear and secret 
bureaucratic maneuvering has permeated the day-to-day 
existence of Eritreans.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ACCUSED OF ANTI-GSE ACTIVITIES 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (C) Rev. Zecharias explained to Poloff the history of 
tension between the Mehrete Yesus Church and Rev. Asfaha. 
According to Rev. Zecharias, Rev. Asfaha has worked 
relentlessly over the past five years to bring the Mehrete 
Yesus Church under the authority of his own Evangelical 
Lutheran Church, possibly in an effort to increase his 
congregation numbers.  However, given the doctrinal 
differences between the two churches, neither the Mehrete 
Yesus Church nor the Evangelical Lutheran Church elders were 
interested in a merger and Rev. Zecharias has been able to 
derail Rev. Asfaha's previous attempts.  As part of the 
on-going saga, Rev. Asfaha wrote a letter to the police (seen 
by Rev. Zecharias after his release) alleging anti-GSE 
activity at the Mehrete Yesus Church.  Given the GSE's 
culture of suspicion about the activities of unofficial 
religious groups,  the police (and not National Security 
officials as previously surmised and reported in reftel) felt 
this accusation was sufficient enough to arrest the entire 
congregation and initiate an investigation independently. 
(Comment:  Under GSE law, the police are permitted to arrest 
and detain individuals without charge for up to 28 days. End 
Comment.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
THE POLICE MAKE THE ARRESTS AND THEN SEEK BACKUP 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶3.  (C) On April 29, the day of the arrests, Rev. Zecharias 
called Semare Beyene of the Office of Religious Affairs to 
inform the Office that the police were at the church.  After 
the police arrested the entire congregation, Rev. Zecharias 
attempted to negotiate with the police commissioner at the 
police station, informing him that the church was not 
Pentecostal and had permission from the GSE to worship.  The 
commissioner expressed surprise to hear the church was not 
Pentecostal; nonetheless, he refused to release the 
congregation and accused Rev. Zecharias of forging the 
permission letters. 
 
¶4. (C) The following day, the police contacted the Office of 
Religious Affairs as part of their investigation.  According 
to Rev. Zecharias' sources, the police told the Office of 
Religious Affairs that the church was operating illegally and 
that the two Americans linked to the church were agents of 
the USG.  The Office of Religious Affairs, familiar with the 
church and the resident U.S. missionaries refuted the police 
claim.  Thus began a month-long battle between the two 
offices for control and resolution of the case. 
 
¶5.  (C) During the next two weeks, the police contacted the 
Office of National Security with the same deliberate 
 
ASMARA 00000540  002 OF 002 
 
 
misinformation about the circumstances behind the arrests. 
The police appeared to be playing on national security 
concerns in order to garner support from this powerful office 
during their investigation.  The National Security Office, 
(which allegedly supervises the Office of Religious Affairs 
although the hierarchy is not clear), refused to engage 
themselves with the police efforts.  Seeking support from 
another powerful GSE office, the police reportedly contacted 
General Filipos of the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) and 
Minister of Defense Sebhat Efrem.  Allegedly, the police 
claimed to the EDF that the church was hiding young people in 
order to shield them from the national service draft and that 
the Office of Religious Affairs was also involved in illegal 
activities.  The EDF also declined to become involved and 
referred the police back to the Office of Religious Affairs. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
CONGREGATION QUESTIONED BUT PERMITTED TO WORSHIP 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6.  (C) Unfortunately, due to the slow response of the Office 
of Religious Affairs and the distractions surrounding the 
upcoming Eritrean Independence Day on May 24, the 
congregation remained in detention throughout most of May. 
During this time, congregation members were subjected to 
numerous inquisitions about church activities and 
involvement.  The police questioned Rev. Zecharias on several 
occasions about the church activities, its source of funds 
and the role and involvement of the American missionaries in 
the church.  In addition, he was asked to answer questions 
about Mehrete Yesus Church's affiliation with the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church, to include why they maintained separate 
churches and about his ordination as a minister.  The police 
questioned the other members of the church and at one point 
subjected congregation members to beatings.  Rev. Zecharias 
was able to intercede on behalf of the church members and the 
beatings ceased.  Surprisingly, despite the alleged reasoning 
behind the arrests, the jail guards permitted the members of 
the congregation to gather and stage small worship services 
with prayer and a homily on each of the four Sundays of their 
detention. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT INTERVENES 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Eventually, the Office of Religious Affairs secured a 
meeting with Office of the President representative Yemane 
Ghebremeskel and the head of the Office of National Security, 
Abraha Kassa.  The meeting participants discussed the 
situation and decided to release the congregation.  Following 
this decision, the police released all but seven of the 
detainees on or around May 21.  The remaining detainees, 
which included Rev. Zecharias and other church elders, were 
finally released on May 28.  Rev. Zecharias reported that 
during the final week of detention, the police ceased 
interrogating the detainees.  No church members were asked to 
recant their faith. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶8. (C) Post initially viewed the targeting of the Mehrete 
Yesus Church as yet more GSE persecution of Christians in 
Eritrea, and a possible signaling of a new wave of arrests of 
unregistered religious groups.  According to Rev. Zecharias, 
this was not the case.  His bizarre, yet plausible, story 
provides another example of Eritrea's devolution into a 
police state, in which the citizens live in a climate of 
secrecy and fear, where one person can initiate a series of 
actions that persecutes nearly 80 people and only the 
President's closest advisors have the power and authority to 
intervene.  End Comment. 
MCINTYRE