Journalists jailed for attempting to flee the country

Expression

In Eritrea, there is little respect for free speech and press freedom. The country currently ranks bottom of the 180 countries included in Reporters without Borders' 2016 World Press Freedom Index, while the Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that there are at least 16 journalists currently imprisoned, many of whom have been held incommunicado since 2001.

On 19th February 2017, Eritrean Forum Radio, an opposition radio station operating in exile, reported on the arrests of two journalists working for the state-owned Eritrean Radio and Television Agency. The journalists were detained on suspicion of attempting to flee the country. The Eritrean authorities view any attempt to leave the country as an act of treason, and those accused of planning to escape can be punished severely.