ICERAS

The 12 men and women are currently being held in Kassala prison in Sudan, near to the border with Eritrea. They
were among a group of 20 Eritreans who were arrested during the first week of May and transferred to Kassala prison, charged with illegal entry into the country. All 20 men and women were found guilty of violating immigration law, and were sentenced to deportation, in addition to either paying a fine of 300 Sudanese Pounds (US $112) or 20 days’ imprisonment. They all opted for imprisonment rather than return to Eritrea, but a third party paid the fine on behalf of eight members of the group and they were deported against their will between 26 May and 2 June. It is believed the Eritrean authorities were involved in paying the fine. The group have not been heard from since deportation. An appeal was submitted on behalf of the rest of the group, but on 9 June the initial ruling was upheld. At least two members of the group have been handed over to the immigration authorities for deportation. Another group of at least 17 Eritrean asylumseekers are having their appeal heard on 14 June and are also at risk of deportation. At least nine Eritreans have
been deported from Kassala in the last two weeks. Asylum-seekers returned to Eritrea are routinely subjected to human rights violations, including incommunicado detention (detention without access to lawyers, family or medical treatment), torture and other forms of illtreatment, particularly those who have fled from compulsory military service. The act of seeking asylum itself is considered as an act of treason by the Eritrean authorities, meaning all returned asylum-seekers are at risk of
detention on this basis. readmore