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US Congresswoman Calls on Eritrea to Release American

by Salem Solomon

   The chair of a U.S. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee has called on
   the Eritrean government to release an American citizen who has been
   detained in the country for more than six years.

   Ciham Ali Abdu was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Eritrea. In
   December 2012, [1]Eritrean officials apprehended Ciham when she
   attempted to leave the country without a mandatory exit visa. Her
   family hasn't seen or heard from her since, despite attempts to learn
   about her whereabouts and well-being.

   U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee
   on Africa, global health, global human rights and international
   organizations, called for Ciham's release in social media posts Friday.

   "I was in Eritrea just last month," Bass wrote on Twitter and Facebook.
   "The country's leaders should release Ciham, who had a birthday this
   past week, and all of Eritrea's political prisoners to send a message
   that the country is embarking on a new path that includes respect for
   human rights."

   Bass visited Eritrea and Ethiopia with Reps. Joe Neguse and Ilhan Omar,
   both of whom joined Congress in January. [2]Neguse represents
   Colorado's second district. His parents emigrated from Eritrea to the
   U.S. in 1980. Omar, a Somali-American, came to the U.S. as a refugee in
   1992.

   It was the first congressional delegation to visit Eritrea in 14 years,
   according to the U.S. Embassy in Asmara.

   'Official denials

   The Eritrean government refuses to acknowledge Ciham's citizenship, or
   even her existence.

   Bass, who represents California's 37th District, near where Ciham was
   born, is the highest-ranking U.S. official to put a spotlight on her
   case. The U.S. State Department hasn't officially confirmed Ciham's
   imprisonment, saying only that the U.S. government is aware of reports
   about Ciham's detainment.

   Bass told reporters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last month that she had
   just recently learned about Ciham's case, according to the Associated
   Press. Human rights groups have for years [3]called for the
   22-year-old's release.

   Vanessa Tsehaye founded One Day Seyoum, an organization focused on
   securing the release of her uncle, Seyoum Tsehaye, an Eritrean
   journalist who has been imprisoned since 2001. Tsehaye spoke to VOA
   Wednesday, on Ciham's birthday.

   "She has been in prison without a trial, and it can't, it simply cannot
   stand," Tsehaye said. "Even the excuses they try to use for people,
   like journalists or politicians, or [raising] issues about national
   security. And those kinds of excuses don't stand when you are talking
   about a girl who was 15 when she was imprisoned for simply attempting
   to leave the country."

   The United Nations, Amnesty International and other rights groups have
   accused the Eritrean government of human rights violations designed to
   suppress dissent, including arbitrary detention, forced disappearances
   and torture.

   The government has denied those claims and criticized the U.S. and U.N.
   for seeking to undermine its sovereignty.

   "We think that there's a chance that Ciham might hear and see our
   messages," Tsehaye said. "So we want her to know that there are people
   fighting for her and that she is being remembered and that we will
   stand in solidarity with her until the day she is released."

   Salem Solomon is a multimedia digital journalist with the Voice of
   America's Africa Division. She covers [4]the latest news from across
   the continent, and she also reports and edits in [5]Amharic and
   [6]Tigrigna.

   Salem's multimedia and data-driven projects include [7]How Western
   DRC's Ebola Outbreak Was Contained, [8]Unrest: Ethiopia at a
   Crossroads, [9]Zimbabwe in Transition, [10]Hunger Across Africa and
   [11]How Long Have Africa's Presidents Held Office?

   Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post,
   Poynter.org and Reuters. She researches trends in analytics and digital
   journalism. For tips and inquiries, email: salemsolomon@voanews.com.

References

   1. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-eritrea-prisoner/4690807.html
   2. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-congress-1st-eritrean-american-vows-to-fight-toxicity-and-vitriol-/4649716.html
   3. https://www.voanews.com/a/first-us-congressional-delegation-in-fourteen-years-visits-eritrea/4813583.html
   4. http://www.voanews.com/author/25229.html
   5. http://amharic.voanews.com/author/25085.html
   6. http://tigrigna.voanews.com/author/25525.html
   7. https://projects.voanews.com/drc-ebola-outbreak/?utm_source=voaprojects
   8. https://projects.voanews.com/ethiopia-unrest/
   9. https://projects.voanews.com/zimbabwe-in-transition/
  10. http://projects.voanews.com/africa-drought/home.php
  11. http://projects.voanews.com/african-presidents/