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About the publicationThis report contains an in depth analysis of the muted right to freedom of expression in Eritrea. The number and forms of human rights violations related to the curtailing of free speech have been and continue to be well documented across the globe. This discourse identifies the right to free reception of information and expression as the bedrock to realising and maintaining the rule of law. Investigated herein is the historical background to the political evolution of the small African state and the social impact of the prevailing human rights violations.This report contains a compilation of human rights violations as determined by international treaty bodies, interviews with Eritrean witnesses and diaspora in exile and civil society reports on the human rights situation. It is argued in the report that the absence of the rule of law in Eritrea is directly attributed to the collapse of free expression as political forces see this right as a threat to their power base – a form of suppression that has nullified all human rights and freedoms and might well damage its people beyond repair.Table of ContentsPrefaceList of abbreviationsList of Eritrean print and electronic mediaAcknowledgmentsExecutive summary EnglishExecutive summary FrenchExecutive summary TigrinyaExecutive summary ArabicIntroductionContextualising the rule of law in EritreaEritrea’s human rights obligations and rule of lawNon-Implementation of the Eritrean ConstitutionSuppression of free expression as an attack on the rule of law in EritreaPrelude to dictatorship: Human rights before September 2001The Crackdown of September 2001Free expression in Eritrea today: Effects of widespread reprisalsClosure of non-state media housesCollapse of the journalistic profession in EritreaInternet censorshipFrom arbitrary arrests to subtle control of the messagePervasive editorial spinThe ‘03’ rumour systemSuppression of foreign and diaspora mediaReporting the work of the courtsEritrea’s international relationsAwareness of the dangers of refugee flightRebirth of independent journalismRecommendationsAnnex I: Compilation of recorded human rights violations related to free speechArbitrary arrest and detentionTorture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentDeath in custodyAnnex II: Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: EritreaI. Recommendations acceptedII. Recommendations that do not enjoy the support of Eritrea

human rights human rights violations freedom of expression Eritrea violations