Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Eritrea should release political prisoners held incommunicado since 2001 on humanitarian grounds or allow them access to family members and lawyers, the European Union (EU) foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, has said. “The EU requests the Eritrean government to make public all information on the whereabouts of these prisoners and to allow them access to their families and lawyers at least on humanitarian grounds,” Ashton said in a statement.

The former Eritrean officials, including ministers, parliamentarians and journalists, members of President Isaias Afwerki’s People’s Front for Democracy and Justice have been detained since 23 September, 2001.

The journalists, 10 in number, include a Swedish citizen of Eritrean origin, Dawit Isaak, who have been held incommunicado for at least a decade.

Human rights accounts from former jailers and defecting military officers claim the detainees often die from over-exposure to extreme heat and other forms of torture during detention and the detainees lack access to medical attention.

The EU says the continued lack of information on the whereabouts and the health of the detainees was a violation of human rights obligations, such as the ban on arbitrary detention and the right of anyone deprived of liberty to be treated with dignity.

“The EU remains deeply concerned that the government and the state of Eritrea continues to violate its human rights obligations, under both domestic and international laws,” the EU said in the statement released Monday.

The Eritrean officials have not been subjected to any form of trial since their arrest.

The Eritrean government denies any form of human rights violations and maintains that the human rights situation in the country is an “unavoidable” consequence of national security concerns as a result of its dispute with Ethiopia.

Eritrea has in recent months implemented a mandatory national security service, making it mandatory for everyone below the age of 30, to undergone military training in the wake of what Asmara considers a credible military threat from Ethiopia.

Diplomats, including those from the EU member states, say it is nearly impossible to verify reports of continuing human rights violations and arbitrary arrests due to the mandatory military training because the government has banned diplomats’ travel.

Diplomats have to seek permission from the government to travel out the capital,  Asmara, and stricter controls are reportedly placed on UN agencies operating in the country.

Lack of religious, political and media freedoms is cited across the board by international organizations operating in Eritrea, but dismiss the insecurity facing the country as a justifiable reason for the crackdown against civil liberties.

Human rights organizations allege that the government has a policy of shoot-to-kill across the border, targeting thousands of young Eritreans fleeing the country from its border with Sudan and Ethiopia.

Pana 20/09/2011