Fully Authoritarian
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HRF classifies Eritrea as ruled by a fully authoritarian regime.
Eritrea is a highly centralized totalitarian regime. The head of state, Isaias Afwerki, has ruled the country since Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, following a 30-year war of liberation. With no constitution in force, no national elections, no legislature, and no political parties other than the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), Eritrea is often referred to as “the North Korea of Africa.” A highly militarized state, the regime maintains forced, arbitrary, and often indefinite military conscription of its citizens. Under Isaias, the regime has systematically committed widespread human rights abuses, eliminated all forms of opposition, and played a role in destructive regional wars.
National elections are absent, and have never been held in Eritrea, rendering moot the assessment of electoral competition. With no political organization outside the ruling PFDJ allowed in the nation, the country is under one-party totalitarian rule. While a constitution ratified in 1997 called for democratic elections, Isaias indefinitely suspended its implementation and totally closed the democratic space in 2001.
Independent media, political leaders, civil society leaders, organizations, and regular people and citizens face overt and systematic retaliation if they openly criticize or challenge the regime. The regime unfairly censors dissenting speech, heavily manipulates media coverage in its favor, has unfairly shut down or taken measures that led to the shutdown of all major independent, dissenting organizations, and engages in transnational repression against dissidents abroad, including through surveillance or other forms of intimidation.
Institutions largely fail to serve as independent checks on the regime. The judiciary fails to serve as a check on the regime and is totally subservient to President Isaias. Most cases related to dissent never reach the courts, as the dissenters are held indefinitely without trial. Judges who rule contrary to regime interests face regime retaliation through firing or “freezing,” where they are stripped of their duties. There is no legislative independence; the transitional National Assembly was unofficially dissolved in 2002 with no replacement.
National elections are absent, rendering moot the assessment of electoral competition. President Isaias Afwerki’s suspension of the implementation of the constitution has prevented presidential and parliamentary elections. No political parties, apart from Isaias’ PFDJ party, are allowed to function in Eritrea.
There is no real political opposition in Eritrea. No political organization outside of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is allowed to function in Eritrea. Since September 2001, Isaias’ regime has fully closed the democratic space and barred any form of opposition, independent media, or civic association. Opposition parties, such as the Eritrean national Salvation Front (ENSF), operate in exile.
Independent media, political leaders, civil society leaders, organizations, and regular people and citizens face overt and systematic retaliation if they openly criticize or challenge the regime. Dissent is not tolerated, and the regime systematically subjects dissenters to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and forced military conscription. The regime suspended all independent media and organizations in 2001 and tightly controls all information in the country. The regime also engages in transnational repression through intimidation and online harassment.
The regime has forcibly disappeared dissidents. The regime systematically abducts critics and holds them for years in secret detention centers without charge. The most well-known victims of this practice are a group of senior PFDJ reformers, known as the G-15, as well as a dozen leading independent journalists who have been forcibly disappeared since September 2001 for signing and publishing an open letter that accused Isaias of abusing his powers and called for implementation of the constitution and national elections. In another high-profile case, the regime forcibly disappeared Patriarch Abune Antonios, the leader of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, for 16 years until his death in custody in 2022, after he opposed official requests to excommunicate thousands of dissenting church members who had called for the release of political prisoners. Finally, Berhane Abrehe, the former Minister of Finance, died in prison in 2024 after 6 years of enforced disappearance following his publication of a book that criticized the regime.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Eritrea remained the leading jailer of journalists in 2025, with 16 journalists held without trial, including some who have been forcibly disappeared since as far back as 2000. Many among a dozen journalists forcibly disappeared since September 2001 for the publication of the G-15’s open letter are presumed dead. However, international attention around the case of journalist Dawit Isaak, a Swedish citizen, forced the regime to briefly set him free in 2005, only to forcibly disappear him again. Since then, the regime has offered vague and inconsistent reasons for his detention, including conspiring with foreign intelligence, avoiding military service, and violating press regulations. The regime also uses forced military conscription. In 2003, Aklilu Solomon, a local correspondent for the US-based Voice of America radio station, was arrested for broadcasting a report about individuals mourning the death of family members conscripted into the war with Ethiopia. Despite already having served his compulsory national service, Solomon was re-conscripted and reportedly in military custody.
Isaias’ regime has unfairly shut down or taken measures that led to the shutdown of all major independent, dissenting organizations. On September 18, 2001, the regime banned all private newspapers following the publication of the open letter by the G-15. No independent civil society organizations (CSOs) are allowed to freely operate in the country. In 2006, the regime expelled six Italian CSOs focused on humanitarian aid and told several other international organizations (including Mercy Corps, Concern Worldwide, and the Agency for Co-operation and Research in Development) to leave the country. In 2005, the regime closed the local office for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The regime has heavily manipulated media coverage in its favor. The regime tightly controls all information in the country. The regime’s Ministry of Information runs the sole national broadcaster, Eri-TV, and a trio of state national newspapers. It also censors dissenting speech. The regime controls the country’s sole Internet provider and limits the public’s access to the Internet, with only 1.3% percent of the population estimated to have internet access in 2017 and 0.3% estimated to have social media access in 2023.
The Isaias regime has seriously and unfairly repressed protests or gatherings to the point where public dissent in Eritrea is uncommon. On October 31, 2017, students from Al Diaa School protested after the arrest of the school’s 90-year-old chairman and several board members, who had opposed the regime’s increasing interference in the private school. The regime opened fire on the protesting students, killing 28 protesters. As part of the 2001 crackdown on dissent, the regime detained University of Asmara student union president Semere Kesete for protesting management of the university’s mandatory summer work program. Hundreds of students who rallied in solidarity with him faced violence and detainment and were subjected to several months of hard labor in a detention camp. Additionally, 2000 students were sent to the same site, with reports of two casualties due to heatstroke.
The regime has engaged in transnational repression against dissidents abroad, including through surveillance or other forms of intimidation. Eritrean authorities try to control diaspora politics through kidnappings, enforced disappearances, surveillance, violence, intimidation, harassment, smear campaigns, social isolation, and the refusal of consular services. According to a 2024 United Nations (UN) report, dissidents have reported receiving threats from regime agents and supporters against themselves and their families in Eritrea. For example, in 2012, Ciham Ali Abdu, the 15-year-old daughter of a defected former Minister of Information, Ali Abdu, was arrested while attempting to flee the country. Ciham, who is also a US citizen, has been held without information on her whereabouts. Eritrean authorities also detained Ciham’s 87-year-old grandfather, Abdu Ahmed Younes, and her uncle, Hassen Abdu Ahmed, after Ali fled the country. Abdu died shortly after his release in December 2017, while Hassen remains forcibly disappeared.
Institutions largely fail to serve as independent checks on the regime. The judiciary is subservient to the regime and often circumvented through the parallel “Special Court” or by holding detainees without charge or trial. There is no legislative or institutional independence; Isaias unofficially dissolved the National Assembly in 2002, and his cabinet has not met since 2018.
Courts systematically, frequently, and unfairly failed to check the regime’s attempts to repress criticism or retaliate against those who express open opposition to its most prominent, widely publicized policies. Detainees are not systematically brought to court, and political detainees are incarcerated without the participation or knowledge of the judiciary. This is achieved through incommunicado detention, secret proceedings in which detainees are not informed of accusations and are denied legal counsel and defense rights. A notable example is the case of journalist Dawit Isaak and former Vice-President Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo (a member of the G-15), who were arrested in September 2001 and have since been detained without formal charges. Semere Kesete remains the only known dissenter who was presented before the High Court through a habeas corpus petition. However, regime officials denied Semere a second appearance before the court and held him in solitary confinement for a year, where he was tortured. He later escaped prison and claimed political refugee status in Sweden.
The regime directs politically sensitive cases to separate, regime-controlled courts. The regime limits the regular Civil courts to adjudicating private, commercial cases, while it operates a parallel “Special Court” that autonomously handles certain criminal cases, mainly for corruption and national security. The Special Court reports directly to both the Ministry of Defense and the Office of the President. Legal representation is not allowed, and trials are held in closed sessions.
Members of the judicial branch, who act contrary to governing authority interests, have faced regime retaliation. For instance, in August 2001, then Chief Justice Teame Beyene was fired from his position by Fozia Hashim, the Minister of Justice, following his criticism of how the regime was interfering in the affairs of the judicial branch. The regime also strips dissenting judges and other regime officials of their duties while still providing pay in a tactic known as “freezing.”
The regime subjected legislative and executive institutions to reforms that abolished their independence or operational effectiveness. In 2002, Isaias unofficially dissolved the National Assembly, and the legislative body has not held a session since. The national cabinet also ceased to convene in 2018. Isaias has not replaced these mechanisms, leading to the country’s power being concentrated in his hands.
HRF classifies Eritrea as ruled by a fully authoritarian regime.
Eritrea is a highly centralized totalitarian regime. The head of state, Isaias Afwerki, has ruled the country since Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, following a 30-year war of liberation. With no constitution in force, no national elections, no legislature, and no political parties other than the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), Eritrea is often referred to as “the North Korea of Africa.” A highly militarized state, the regime maintains forced, arbitrary, and often indefinite military conscription of its citizens. Under Isaias, the regime has systematically committed widespread human rights abuses, eliminated all forms of opposition, and played a role in destructive regional wars.
National elections are absent, and have never been held in Eritrea, rendering moot the assessment of electoral competition. With no political organization outside the ruling PFDJ allowed in the nation, the country is under one-party totalitarian rule. While a constitution ratified in 1997 called for democratic elections, Isaias indefinitely suspended its implementation and totally closed the democratic space in 2001.
Independent media, political leaders, civil society leaders, organizations, and regular people and citizens face overt and systematic retaliation if they openly criticize or challenge the regime. The regime unfairly censors dissenting speech, heavily manipulates media coverage in its favor, has unfairly shut down or taken measures that led to the shutdown of all major independent, dissenting organizations, and engages in transnational repression against dissidents abroad, including through surveillance or other forms of intimidation.
Institutions largely fail to serve as independent checks on the regime. The judiciary fails to serve as a check on the regime and is totally subservient to President Isaias. Most cases related to dissent never reach the courts, as the dissenters are held indefinitely without trial. Judges who rule contrary to regime interests face regime retaliation through firing or “freezing,” where they are stripped of their duties. There is no legislative independence; the transitional National Assembly was unofficially dissolved in 2002 with no replacement.
National elections are absent, rendering moot the assessment of electoral competition. President Isaias Afwerki’s suspension of the implementation of the constitution has prevented presidential and parliamentary elections. No political parties, apart from Isaias’ PFDJ party, are allowed to function in Eritrea.
There is no real political opposition in Eritrea. No political organization outside of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is allowed to function in Eritrea. Since September 2001, Isaias’ regime has fully closed the democratic space and barred any form of opposition, independent media, or civic association. Opposition parties, such as the Eritrean national Salvation Front (ENSF), operate in exile.
Independent media, political leaders, civil society leaders, organizations, and regular people and citizens face overt and systematic retaliation if they openly criticize or challenge the regime. Dissent is not tolerated, and the regime systematically subjects dissenters to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and forced military conscription. The regime suspended all independent media and organizations in 2001 and tightly controls all information in the country. The regime also engages in transnational repression through intimidation and online harassment.
The regime has forcibly disappeared dissidents. The regime systematically abducts critics and holds them for years in secret detention centers without charge. The most well-known victims of this practice are a group of senior PFDJ reformers, known as the G-15, as well as a dozen leading independent journalists who have been forcibly disappeared since September 2001 for signing and publishing an open letter that accused Isaias of abusing his powers and called for implementation of the constitution and national elections. In another high-profile case, the regime forcibly disappeared Patriarch Abune Antonios, the leader of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, for 16 years until his death in custody in 2022, after he opposed official requests to excommunicate thousands of dissenting church members who had called for the release of political prisoners. Finally, Berhane Abrehe, the former Minister of Finance, died in prison in 2024 after 6 years of enforced disappearance following his publication of a book that criticized the regime.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Eritrea remained the leading jailer of journalists in 2025, with 16 journalists held without trial, including some who have been forcibly disappeared since as far back as 2000. Many among a dozen journalists forcibly disappeared since September 2001 for the publication of the G-15’s open letter are presumed dead. However, international attention around the case of journalist Dawit Isaak, a Swedish citizen, forced the regime to briefly set him free in 2005, only to forcibly disappear him again. Since then, the regime has offered vague and inconsistent reasons for his detention, including conspiring with foreign intelligence, avoiding military service, and violating press regulations. The regime also uses forced military conscription. In 2003, Aklilu Solomon, a local correspondent for the US-based Voice of America radio station, was arrested for broadcasting a report about individuals mourning the death of family members conscripted into the war with Ethiopia. Despite already having served his compulsory national service, Solomon was re-conscripted and reportedly in military custody.
Isaias’ regime has unfairly shut down or taken measures that led to the shutdown of all major independent, dissenting organizations. On September 18, 2001, the regime banned all private newspapers following the publication of the open letter by the G-15. No independent civil society organizations (CSOs) are allowed to freely operate in the country. In 2006, the regime expelled six Italian CSOs focused on humanitarian aid and told several other international organizations (including Mercy Corps, Concern Worldwide, and the Agency for Co-operation and Research in Development) to leave the country. In 2005, the regime closed the local office for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The regime has heavily manipulated media coverage in its favor. The regime tightly controls all information in the country. The regime’s Ministry of Information runs the sole national broadcaster, Eri-TV, and a trio of state national newspapers. It also censors dissenting speech. The regime controls the country’s sole Internet provider and limits the public’s access to the Internet, with only 1.3% percent of the population estimated to have internet access in 2017 and 0.3% estimated to have social media access in 2023.
The Isaias regime has seriously and unfairly repressed protests or gatherings to the point where public dissent in Eritrea is uncommon. On October 31, 2017, students from Al Diaa School protested after the arrest of the school’s 90-year-old chairman and several board members, who had opposed the regime’s increasing interference in the private school. The regime opened fire on the protesting students, killing 28 protesters. As part of the 2001 crackdown on dissent, the regime detained University of Asmara student union president Semere Kesete for protesting management of the university’s mandatory summer work program. Hundreds of students who rallied in solidarity with him faced violence and detainment and were subjected to several months of hard labor in a detention camp. Additionally, 2000 students were sent to the same site, with reports of two casualties due to heatstroke.
The regime has engaged in transnational repression against dissidents abroad, including through surveillance or other forms of intimidation. Eritrean authorities try to control diaspora politics through kidnappings, enforced disappearances, surveillance, violence, intimidation, harassment, smear campaigns, social isolation, and the refusal of consular services. According to a 2024 United Nations (UN) report, dissidents have reported receiving threats from regime agents and supporters against themselves and their families in Eritrea. For example, in 2012, Ciham Ali Abdu, the 15-year-old daughter of a defected former Minister of Information, Ali Abdu, was arrested while attempting to flee the country. Ciham, who is also a US citizen, has been held without information on her whereabouts. Eritrean authorities also detained Ciham’s 87-year-old grandfather, Abdu Ahmed Younes, and her uncle, Hassen Abdu Ahmed, after Ali fled the country. Abdu died shortly after his release in December 2017, while Hassen remains forcibly disappeared.
Institutions largely fail to serve as independent checks on the regime. The judiciary is subservient to the regime and often circumvented through the parallel “Special Court” or by holding detainees without charge or trial. There is no legislative or institutional independence; Isaias unofficially dissolved the National Assembly in 2002, and his cabinet has not met since 2018.
Courts systematically, frequently, and unfairly failed to check the regime’s attempts to repress criticism or retaliate against those who express open opposition to its most prominent, widely publicized policies. Detainees are not systematically brought to court, and political detainees are incarcerated without the participation or knowledge of the judiciary. This is achieved through incommunicado detention, secret proceedings in which detainees are not informed of accusations and are denied legal counsel and defense rights. A notable example is the case of journalist Dawit Isaak and former Vice-President Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo (a member of the G-15), who were arrested in September 2001 and have since been detained without formal charges. Semere Kesete remains the only known dissenter who was presented before the High Court through a habeas corpus petition. However, regime officials denied Semere a second appearance before the court and held him in solitary confinement for a year, where he was tortured. He later escaped prison and claimed political refugee status in Sweden.
The regime directs politically sensitive cases to separate, regime-controlled courts. The regime limits the regular Civil courts to adjudicating private, commercial cases, while it operates a parallel “Special Court” that autonomously handles certain criminal cases, mainly for corruption and national security. The Special Court reports directly to both the Ministry of Defense and the Office of the President. Legal representation is not allowed, and trials are held in closed sessions.
Members of the judicial branch, who act contrary to governing authority interests, have faced regime retaliation. For instance, in August 2001, then Chief Justice Teame Beyene was fired from his position by Fozia Hashim, the Minister of Justice, following his criticism of how the regime was interfering in the affairs of the judicial branch. The regime also strips dissenting judges and other regime officials of their duties while still providing pay in a tactic known as “freezing.”
The regime subjected legislative and executive institutions to reforms that abolished their independence or operational effectiveness. In 2002, Isaias unofficially dissolved the National Assembly, and the legislative body has not held a session since. The national cabinet also ceased to convene in 2018. Isaias has not replaced these mechanisms, leading to the country’s power being concentrated in his hands.
