THE ROUNDABOUT METHOD OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000304 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E AND DRL/IRF LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2018 TAGS: PHUM KIRF SF ER SUBJECT: THE ROUNDABOUT METHOD OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORTING IN ERITREA Classified By: Ambassador Ronald K. McMullen for reason 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) Reverend Zecharias Abraham (strictly protect) of the Mehrete Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Church informed PolOff during a late May meeting of the manner in which information from Compass Direct is verified. (Note: Compass Direct is a Christian nongovernmental organization (NGO) that documents abuses of religious freedom. End Note.) Incidents occurring within Eritrea are often passed along to Reverend Zecharias from concerned citizens who either witnessed the event in question or are close to those affected by the event. Zecharias then investigates the details of this report through a variety of local sources, including zoba (neighborhood) administrators, eyewitnesses, and church members and officials. Once the information is gathered and found to be accurate, Zecharias routes the information to contacts in Open Doors (an international Christian NGO focused on human rights) in South Africa. The information is then reported to Compass Direct, with Open Doors being the direct, yet uncited, source. The circuitous nature of this reporting serves to protect Eritrean sources, and is a further example of the extent to which Eritreans must go in order to avoid targeting by the Eritrean government. ¶2. (C) In two recent instances, Reverend Zecharias states he has been able to provide Compass Direct with additional details of incidents not found in any news coverage. While Zecharias could not speak to the authenticity of reports from similar Christian NGOs focused on human rights, he believed that their information is obtained in a similar manner. MCMULLEN