It’s an unknown and forgotten story happening in Eritrea – one of the most repressive regimes in the world –, that of Ciham Ahmed, 24, who has been languishing in prison since 2012, according to the NGO Amnesty International. Daughter of a former minister, she was arrested a month after her father’s defection as she tried to join him in exile.
On December 8, 2012, Ciham Ahmed, 15, was arrested while trying to cross the border into Sudan. The teenager wanted to flee her country. Born in Los Angeles in the United States, she grew up in Eritrea where her father Ali had been appointed Minister of Information by her former guerrilla companion Issaïas Afewerki, who became president.
But his father defected during a trip abroad. When he fled the country in December 2012, it caused a shock wave throughout the country, as he was believed to be steadfastly loyal to the autocratic regime. He would have supported a coup against the power in place, causing the sanction against his daughter, underlines Amnesty international.
“They abducted a child, who had her childhood dreams. Concretely, they said to her: ‘we are going to punish you, put you in detention and you will spend half of your life in prison.'”
Saleh, uncle of Ciham Ahmedto Amnesty International
Ciham Ahmed has already spent nine years behind bars. At least that’s what we assume, since no one knows where she is since her arrest in 2012. The girl has never been brought to court, nor charged with anything, says Amnesty International. who publishes an online petition to demand his release.
A message which is addressed especially to the United States to put pressure on Asmara. Ciham Ahmed, now 24, has American nationality but Eritrean officials did not recognize her as an American citizen, as an American diplomat stationed in the country had reported to Voice of America.
Nine years after his arrest, Amnesty recalls that it is“an enforced disappearance” and D’“a crime” under international law. The Organization denounces Washington’s silence.
“As young people his age take the road to college, for example, Ciham suffers nameless horrors.”
Amnesty Internationalin a press release
Arrests and enforced disappearances are a common practice in Eritrea. According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds of politicians, religious figures, journalists and other voices critical of the regime of Issaïas Afewerki have been held incommunicado for years without any contact with their families.