Children of Eritrean Political Prisoners Seek Answers 25 Years Later

Twenty-five years after their parents, prominent figures in Eritrea's liberation war, were jailed without trial, the children of the G-15 group are seeking answers about their fate. Hanna Petros Solomon and Ibrahim Sherifo, whose parents were among 15 high-profile politicians arrested in 2001, speak of the profound and lasting impact of their disappearance.

Petros Solomon, a national hero for his role in the war for independence, served in several ministerial positions before co-signing an open letter with 14 others to President Isaias Afewerki. The letter, dated May 2001, called for the implementation of Eritrea's constitution and the holding of national elections. This act of dissent led to their designation as the G-15.

Shortly after their open letter, Petros Solomon was dismissed from his ministerial post. The arrests of the G-15 members began in earnest on September 18, 2001, coinciding with the world's distraction by the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Petros Solomon was apprehended by security agents as he left his home for his morning exercise.

His daughter, Hanna, then 10 years old, recalls the last time she saw her father. "He had a towel on his shoulders like a sportsman," she told the BBC. Her mother, Aster Yohannes, who was studying in the U.S. at the time, was later assured of her safety by government officials, including President Afewerki himself. Despite these assurances, she was detained upon her return to Asmara in December 2003, and has not been heard from since.

Ibrahim Sherifo, who was 13 when his parents were detained, remembers security agents taking his mother, Aster Fissehatsion, while his father, Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo, a former local government minister, had already been arrested that same morning. Both Hanna and Ibrahim grew up under the care of friends and relatives, who supported them at considerable risk.

Petros Solomon and the other G-15 members are believed to be held in the remote Ela-Ero prison, while Aster Yohannes is thought to be in the Karshelli jail. None of the G-15 have ever been brought to trial or allowed to see their families. At the same time the politicians were arrested, Eritrea's independent newspapers were shut down, and their editors and journalists were also detained, believed to be held in the same remote prison.

Human rights organizations, including the United Nations, consider the G-15 prisoners of conscience and have called for their release. President Afewerki, who came to power after Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, has yet to implement the country's 1997 constitution and has not held national elections. "For me 18 September 2001 is a dark day, but not only for me, it is a dark day for Eritrea and its people, because it is the day when law and democracy was detained," said Ibrahim Sherifo.

Hanna, now a trauma specialist living in the U.S., carries the emotional scars of her parents' disappearance. "Sometimes it is calm and you can float, but other times the sorrow comes back to you like a wave and drowns you deep down," she described. Her father, Petros Solomon, was considered a key leader during the liberation war. He and his colleagues are remembered by their children not just as heroes of independence, but as individuals who dared to advocate for democratic reforms.

The Eritrean government has not responded to requests for comment from the BBC regarding the whereabouts or status of the prisoners. The children of the G-15 continue to seek information, with the hope that their parents are still alive and that their sacrifices for democracy will one day be recognized.