Activist and journalist Dawit Isaak has reportedly died in an Eritrean prison, according to sources on Facebook. Eritrean-born Isaak, who has Swedish nationality, is said to have died late October 2011.

The Swedish ministery of Foreign Affairs has said it has no indication whether the rumours are based on fact, nor has anyone reported to the Swedes that Isaak is dead. A ministry spokesperson said, "We're working on this all the time, and we receive occasional reports about his situation. The latest report was received a month ago. As long as we have no confirmation of his death, we will continue working on this."

Freedom
But the organisations meeting earlier this week at the "Day of the Imprisoned Writer", an event held by writers' group International PEN were pessimistic about Isaak's fate. They wrote to the Eritrean government urging it to shed more light on his situation.

This week Dawit Isaak was awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom, a distinction presented by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). Isaak was commended for his struggle for press freedom, democratic reforms and civil liberties. The prize was accepted on his behalf by his brother Esaias. In his emotional acceptance speech Esaias was visibly affected by having to talk about someone who he hadn't seen for years.

No charges
Dawit Isaak was imprisoned by the Eritrean authorities in 2001 after publishing an open letter in his paper "Setit" calling for democratic reforms.

Hardly anything has been heard from him since. A Swedish diplomat caught a glimpse of Dawit through the bars of his prison cell. During a short release in 2005 Dawit spoke on the phone to relatives about a possible return to Sweden, shortly before he was rearrested.

After that Isaak remained shrouded in silence. He was moved to a high-security prison in 2008 and admitted to a military hospital in 2009. He never appeared in court, no charges were ever brought against him and his family has never been allowed to visit him.

Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki made no bones about it on a visit to Uganda that nothing would change in Dawit's situation, as far as he was concerned: "There will be no trial and we will not release him. We know very well how to deal with his kind."

(rk)