Report details abuses suffered by people fleeing torture in Eritrea

Detention, torture and the policy of mandatory conscription is forcing an increasing number of Eritrean citizens into exile, according to a new report.

Research by Human Rights Watch, which includes information gathered from the testimonies of clients seen by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture (MF), documents serious human rights violations by the Eritrean government, including arbitrary arrest and torture.

In compiling the report, "Service for Life: State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea", more than 50 victims and eyewitnesses of abuses were interviewed by HRW.

Researchers drew in part on medico-legal reports compiled by the MF in documenting evidence of torture in the cases of people fleeing to the UK. Between 2007 and 2008 the MF received more than 150 requests for help from Eritreans claiming to have suffered torture and/or ill-treatment.

People are reported to have been detained for their political or religious beliefs, others because they tried to evade national service.

In its recommendations, HRW calls on the governments of countries where Eritrean survivors have fled, including the UK, to cease deportations to Eritrea, in line with guidance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).