Hanna Petros Solomon breaks down in tears as she recalls how she and her siblings effectively became orphans 25 years ago when their father was arrested in Eritrea and jailed without trial. Their mother was subsequently detained - and no-one has heard from either of them - or of them - since. "He had a towel on his shoulders like a sportsman," she tells the BBC about the last time she saw her father when she was 10 years old, and he had gone out for a jog.
Her parents met when they both fought in the long liberation war that saw Eritrea gain independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Her father Petros Solomon had been one of the senior leaders during the war and is regarded by many as a national hero for his critical role. After independence, he had served as defence minister, then foreign minister and had been heading the fisheries ministry when his troubles began.
That was in May 2001 when he and 14 other high-profile politicians signed an open letter to President Isaias Afewerki calling for the implementation of a constitution that was ratified after independence and demanding national elections. They became known as the G-15. Isaias, the leader of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) which had fought against Ethiopia, did not take the criticism well.
Unbeknown to Hanna, her father had been dismissed as a minister, though he still went out early to get some exercise each day. It was not until a few days after 9/11 - when the world was distracted by the al-Qaeda attacks on the US - that the country was to discover the full extent of Isais's displeasure in what became a watershed moment in Eritrea's history. In the early hours of 18 September, the security forces positioned themselves outside the homes of 11 senior government officials in the capital, Asmara, on the president's orders.
Petros was picked up by security agents as he left in his tracksuit. The family had no idea what had happened to him. Hanna and her three siblings went to stay with their paternal grandmother as their mother, Aster Yohannes, was away studying in the US.
It was only some days after Petros had disappeared that things became clearer, says Hanna about the painful memories. "My classmates told me that my father sold out his country. "That is when I understood how serious the situation was, and how people framed my dad and his colleagues who fought for the independence of their country.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
