The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Eritrean authorities to disclose the whereabouts of 16 journalists detained during the country’s 2001 crackdown on independent media. The organisation also demanded that the government provide proof of life and immediately release those still in detention.
CPJ made the demand on November 10 during a public tribute to the journalists at the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) in Nairobi, Kenya. The tribute marked 25 years since Eritrean authorities arrested the journalists and shut down independent media outlets.
The journalists, known collectively as the Eritrea 16, remain among the world’s longest-detained journalists. Their families have received no information about their fate or whereabouts since their arrests. The journalists include Amanuel Asrat, Dawit Habtemichael, Dawit Isaak, Ghebrehiwet Keleta, Hamid Mohamed Said, Idris Said, Jimi’ie Kimeil, Mattewos Habteab, Medhanie Haile, Said Abdelkader, Saleh Aljazeeri, Sahle Tsegazeab, Seyoum Tsehaye, Temesgen Ghebreyesus, Tesfay Ghebreab and Yusuf Mohamed Ali.
For years, Eritrea continues to remain as one the most dangerous places for journalists. The
Wallows at the absolute bottom of the global press freedom ranking, occupying the 180th position for the third consecutive year, according to the 2026 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
“For a quarter of a century, families have been denied answers about their loved ones. The Eritrea 16 deserve recognition for their journalism, not for their decades of disappearance,” Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ’s Chief Executive Officer said.
In August 2026, CPJ disclosed that it would honour the 16 journalists with its 2026 International Press Freedom Award in recognition of their courage and sacrifice. Ginsberg said that their case serves as a warning about the dangers of allowing governments to silence journalists without accountability.
Also speaking at the memorial, Eritrean journalist and former political prisoner Yirgalem Fisseha, called on the international journalism community to intensify efforts to establish the fate of the missing journalists. While delivering the Carlos Cardoso Memorial Lecture at the conference, Fisseha paid tribute to her former mentor, Amanuel Asrat, a newspaper editor arrested alongside the other journalists in 2001.
The memorial also featured video messages from the journalists’ families and Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s Africa programme coordinator. Participants also listened to readings from the missing journalists’ writings and a conversation between Ginsberg and Fisseha.
Fisseha read from a letter she had written to Asrat, expressing her grief over his disappearance and the uncertainty surrounding his fate. “You would have received awards for your writings in person, rather than for your sufferings in absence,” she said.
Fisseha, who survived six years of imprisonment and torture before fleeing Eritrea, urged journalists to consider the psychological toll of prolonged detention without contact with loved ones.
“Imagine asking yourself, every single day: ‘Does anyone still remember me?” she said.
