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ALJazeera: UN investigators into Eritrea given police protection

Trio was threatened after commission started hearing testimony on Eritrea's human rights record in Switzerland. Switzerland has given police protection to three UN investigators into Eritrea's human rights record  after a top official said they had

Trio was threatened after commission started hearing testimony on Eritrea’s human rights record in Switzerland.

Switzerland has given police protection to three UN investigators into Eritrea’s human rights record  after a top official said they had received threats on the streets of Geneva and at their hotel.

The security measure was put in place on Wednesday, a day after the UN commission started a two-day testimony before the Geneva-based council on Tuesday.

Joachim Ruecker, the president of the council, said on Tuesday that the investigators had been subjected to “various threats and acts of intimidation in their hotel and in the streets since their arrival in Geneva”.

He did not give details but said security had been redoubled, Swiss police had been contacted and security measures had been taken to ensure the council meeting could go on “with calm and dignity”.

Sheila Keetharuth, one member of the commission, said the threats were “specific” but declined to give details.

A Reuters witness saw Swiss police guarding the team even though the meeting was held within the United Nations compound in Geneva.

 

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26 COMMENTS
  • mm June 25, 2015

    Assena
    Pls forward our deepest thanks to Mr. Smith,Ms Sheila and the third person (I don’t know his name) for working very,very, hard with hones integrity,in presenting the evidence (by speaking to Eritreans)the agoney and the unjust miesry the Eritrian people are going through. The system of abuse is exposed to the international community and its cruelty documented, eventhough we, the Eritrean people, have been eduring it for over fourty years.
    Thank you again to the Commission of Inquirey ,a job well done. Your contribution will go down in the history of Eritrea as a friends of the oppressed people, a voice for the voiceless,and a sign of hope for justice.

  • mm June 25, 2015

    Assena
    Pls forward our deepest thanks to Mr. Smith,Ms Sheila and the third person (I don’t know his name) for working very,very, hard with honest integrity,in presenting the evidence (by speaking to Eritreans)the agoney and the unjust miesry the Eritrian people are going through. The system of abuse is exposed to the international community and its cruelty documented, eventhough we, the Eritrean people, have been eduring it for over fourty years.
    Thank you again to the Commission of Inquirey ,a job well done. Your contribution will go down in the history of Eritrea as a friends of the oppressed people, a voice for the voiceless,and a sign of hope for justice.

  • Hiwot June 25, 2015

    Dictators are not created in empty space. There are always social, historical, and psychological patterns that are conductive to and determinant for their creation. What breeds dictatorship above all the disgraceful SILENCE of complacency. It is those who looked the other way because they din not want to see, those who did not see although they could see, those who are neither deaf nor mute but refuse to hear to the cries of suffering compatriots and refuse to speak on behalf of the persecuted.

    For far too long Eritreans have worshiped and glorified the dictator Isaias Afewerki and have tolerated and justified the crimes of his regime with all kinds of pretexts and lame excuses including concerns for national security and looming threats from external enemies (like from poor Ethiopia), until repression finally threatens their very own physical existence. Because at the end of the day the dictator extends the boundaries of his repression to embrace all, even those who had until the very last moment thought they were protected by collaboration or by silence.

  • Genet-orginal June 25, 2015

    Intimidating UN officials.
    DIA and his dogs just proved to the world that what UN said about the dictator and his regime’s crime against humanity is true. Our People have been ruled by a dictator and his supporters with fear and intimidation. For DIA, it is going to end soon. Nothing is for ever. Though for our people, it has been for eternity. DIA degraded our people to what he wants us to be. The irony is that he kept his grudge against the Eritrean people, no matter what we do. Grudge against us because, as a child he was called ‘agame” Big deal. He disrespected us, he destroyed our family and society. He killed us. Just because he was teased as a child. Now, it is going to end for him the same way it had started. He is being called worse than “agame”. He is not only the worst agame ever, he is also a killer.
    WOW! I wonder how he feels now? Grudge and more grudge to his bloody grave.
    We should all learn from this
    God bless our people and country
    Genet-O

  • Habte Asfaha June 25, 2015

    Eritrawian, there are few things to note here.

    1. The hooligans followers of the hooligan one man government always say
    1. UN is our enemy
    2. QA is our enemy
    3. US is our enemy
    4. EU is our enemy

    2. We never heard them say we have friends or our friends such and such …..

    3. Then they come back to intimidate the UN officials.

    4. One thing I came to learn is what Melles Zenawi said about the mad dog:

    N Isaias ab mendeq atsegi-Eka afunchu-U ente zey Akurifkayo aysemEn iyu.

    Meaning: If you do not cornet Isaias and punch his nose, he will never listen.

    Anes TeTaEse
    2.

  • Mehari Hagos June 25, 2015

    Everybody is accountable for the horror that took place in the making of Eritrea. The ghedli violence was not the work of Esayas alone, his close comrades and ghedli romantics are all to be blamed.
    Almost everyone, who participates as a soldier with the fronts, their secret cells and mass organizations, and those in diaspora are responsible for the systematic slaughter of many innocents. Many victims were also at one victimizers; doing the dirty work. The ghedli violence was complex and sadly allowed to stay and flourish in Eritrean society.

    If in the near future, the Eritrean public brings the EPLF/PFDJ into the Hague, which I doubt, it will be even more messy as there are so many so called Eritrean intellectuals involved in the dirty mafia works from their comfort zones.

    • Habte Asfaha June 25, 2015

      So Mehari, What are you suggesting? Just because there are so many of them, we should let the current top dogs in place? Is that what you are saying?

      Yes, I agree with you that many have blood on their hands. But keep in mind that while few are responsible, many of them are either ordered or were made to believe that they were doing it for the sake of Eritrea.

      There are even now so called Doctors that intentionally support the dictator knowing that the country is going to hell. I use to be one of the.

      Now TetaEse

  • mm June 25, 2015

    You are brave Habte. One day we will see the sun of freedom,the real one, rise and shine in Eritrea.

  • hagerawi June 26, 2015

    Ye that pig Sirak Bahlbi should be prosecuted,he is the one organised the protest and threat to the commison members.people should expose him to face the Law.He can not get away with this.His address is in Sweden Eritrean Embassy as well as London.Pass the info to swiss police

  • hard Core June 26, 2015

    Hagerawi,

    Thank you for bringing this to the Eritrean community attention.

    This is the weakness of the western world. This Ba’alge hides himself under the diplomatic immunity and he goes out to intimidate the UN officials. England and Sweden should ask him to choose either to be a refugee or Embassy employee.

    You know if was done in Russia, they would have cut this balls and stuff it in his mouth. That way, we would not have the likes of Sophias Ghideons Asgedes and Berekets

  • Senhit June 26, 2015

    This is the time for all Eritreans unite and raise only one flag, our Liberation Flag, the flag of our forefathers, the flag of our martyrs, the flag that we raised from the beginning to the end of our revolution, our liberation flag, SEMAYAWIT BANDERANA!

    This is the time to save our culture, our land and our people before it’s too late!

    This is the time for all Eritreans to unite and stand for justice, freedom, liberty and equality.

    We should stand against our #1 enemies the mad dog, tyrant dictator Isayas wedi Berad, his blind followers HIGDEF.

    It’s time to liberate our land and our people.

    Let freedom ring in Akeleguzay!
    Let freedom ring in Barka!
    Let freedom ring in Denkel!
    
Let freedom ring in Hamassien! 

    Let freedom ring in Sahil!
    Let freedom ring in Semhar!
    Let freedom ring in Senhit!
    Let freedom ring in Seraye!
    Eritrea will be free soon!

    Our original Eritrean Liberation Flag, Semayawit Banderana will rise up all over Eritrea!
    We did it 1991 and we will do it again 2015.

    • Kabbire June 26, 2015

      senhit, the old timer semhar,

      Your message is as outdated, undemocratic and as hypocritical as a decree written by a dictator. Your historical understanding is very shallow and parochial to say the least.

      Eritreans are dying by hundreds every month and you are obsessed about the colour of cherqi and the name of long defunct Awraja regions?
      You are living in the past. Grow up! Please stop spewing your garbage here. There are tens of thousands of Eritreans including many Warsays who were wounded, toiled under their own Eritrea-made-flag, the current flag.
      The UN had handed to the former Italian colonies of Somalia, Libya and Eritrea (under the Ethio-Eritrea federation) a blue cherqi. The Somalis and the Eritreans (the latter under Ethiopian sovereign federation) each accepted with slight change to the cherqi but the Libyans adopted their own. Therefore, the blue flag is technically a hand-me or second-hand cherqi from the UN.
      what would you tell to the old Bogos people in the current Zoba Anseba who happen to be Tigre and Blin, named after the rich Anseba river that crosses through their fertile land, as Anseba?

      what would you say to the people of Logochowa who are not part of Hamassien nor Seraye and deserve their own region?
      What would you say to the Kunama people who are not part of the old Barka region but are proud people in their own language and culture from the Setit-Sosuna rivers?
      The word “Denkel” is in fact an insult to an Afar. It is like calling them a “n***r”. The majority of ethnic people inhabiting the present South Red Sea region would prefer to be called an Afar region or Red Sea region and speak their language Qafár af …
      Please stop dreaming of this old colonial partition divisions handed by the Italians and look forward to a better and sensible Eritrea to all ethnic and regional groups.

      • Genet-orginal June 26, 2015

        kabbire
        Your point is Eritrean shouldn’t unite, because the UN gave us a flag. You seem to be sure of yourself, yet you don’t seem to know what your point is.
        Genet-O

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