ASTER YOHANNES CONTACTED IN JAIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000161 FOR AF/E E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2019 TAGS: ER PGOV PHUM SUBJECT: ASTER YOHANNES CONTACTED IN JAIL REF: ASMARA 131 Classified By: CDA Melinda Tabler-Stone for reason 1.4(d) ¶1. (C) Our recently freed USAID FSN (protect) said that in the weeks prior to his April 17 release from prison, he had a chance to talk with Aster Yohannes, wife of G-15 member Petros Solomon. Aster, jailed since December 2003, said she had been in good health but recently developed stomach ulcers. She said she believed her husband was still alive based on reports from an opposition radio broadcast originating from Ethiopia. She had not heard from him directly or through other prisoners. ¶2. (C) Background: Petros Solomon was part of the Group of 15 that petitioned Isaias in 2001 to implement the draft constitution and was subsequently arrested on September 18, ¶2001. He has been held incommunicado since then. Aster herself was taken into custody at the airport on December 11, 2003, when she returned to Eritrea having received GSE assurances that she would not be arrested. TABLER-STONE