More than 180 prominent writers from across the world have signed an open letter to Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki demanding verified proof of life for 12 authors who have been held incommunicado since a sweeping crackdown on the press in 2001. The letter, orchestrated by PEN International and dated 18 September, is led by Nobel Prize winners Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee, alongside celebrated figures including Colm Tóibín, Elif Shafak, Isabel Allende, Ben Okri, Yann Martel, Kamila Shamsie and Tsitsi Dangarembga.
It marks twenty-five years since Eritrea’s independent media was effectively dismantled, and the families of those detained have received no information about their health, whereabouts or survival.
The 12 Voices That Vanished
The letter names each of the 12 writers who remain missing, among them the poet Amanuel Asrat and the playwright and journalist Dawit Isaak, who has become one of the most prominent symbols of press suppression in the Horn of Africa. Also listed are Dawit Habtemichael, Fessehaye “Joshua” Yohannes, Matheos Habteab, Medhanie Haile, Sahle “Wedi-Itay” Tsegazeab, Said Abdelkadir, Idris Said “Aba Arre”, Seyoum Tsehaye, Temesgen Ghebreyesus and Yousif Mohammed Ali. Six of these individuals were profiled by the Guardian in 2015, a rare glimpse into their lives at a time when almost no public accounting of their fate existed.
The signatories describe the continued silence as both unlawful and cruel. “The families of these writers, the Eritrean people and the global literary community have been met with a painful and unlawful silence,” the letter states. “To withhold all information regarding their health, location, and survival is a violation of international law and an act of cruelty.”
A Dictatorship Without Dissent
Eritrea has operated under Afwerki’s authoritarian rule since independence in 1993, yet no national elections have been held in the country during that entire period. Independent journalism has been virtually impossible, and the 2001 crackdown targeted the handful of newspapers and publications that had dared to challenge the government’s narrative. Within days, as the letter notes, the nation’s free press was systematically crushed, and those who worked for it were rounded up and erased from public life.
The absence of any legal process or transparency for the detained writers has drawn sustained criticism from human rights organisations and diplomatic bodies over the years. Yet Eritrea’s government has offered no explanation, no charges, and no accounting whatsoever. The country remains one of the most opaque and repressive states on the African continent, a place where whistleblowers and critics are silenced with impunity.
A Literary Community Uniting Across Borders
The breadth of support behind this letter is remarkable in its scope and geography. Signatories span four continents and include novelists, poets, essayists, translators and literary scholars. Andrei Kurkov, Anthony Doerr, Chloe Aridjis, Lauren Groff, Lemn Sissay, Maaza Mengiste, Madeleine Thien, Margaret Busby, Max Porter, Philippe Sands, Preti Taneja, Tice Cin and Viv Groskop are among those who have added their names to the cause.
“Mr President, Eritrea’s future must be built with its brightest minds, not based on their suppression,” the letter reads. “No writer or journalist should be disappeared for peacefully expressing their views.”
PEN International intends to attempt delivery of the letter at the Eritrean embassy in London at 10am on Friday, though expectations for a direct response remain cautiously low. Earlier this year, the organisation also launched a public petition reinforcing the call for proof of life, ensuring that pressure continues to build beyond the literary world alone.
“Twenty-five years is an unbearable length of time for any family to live without knowing whether a loved one is alive,” said Burhan Sönmez, president of PEN International. “These writers have not disappeared from our memory. We will continue to speak their names, and we will continue to demand the truth about what happened to them.” The commitment is clear: the campaign will not relent.
Why it Matters
The plight of these twelve Eritrean writers is not merely a regional concern — it is a test of the international community’s willingness to defend fundamental freedoms. When Nobel laureates and some of the most respected literary voices on Earth speak with one voice, they shine a light on the cost of authoritarianism and the enduring power of the written word. Their refusal to let these names fade into silence sends a message that the suppression of thought and expression will not go unchallenged, and that the families waiting for answers deserve more than a quarter century of emptiness.
