Swedish newspapers publish appeal for reporter jailed in Eritrea

Nov 19, 2009, 7:38 GMT

Stockholm - More than 90 Swedish newspapers united Thursday in publishing a joint appeal on behalf of a Swedish-Eritrean journalist held in Eritrea for eight years without trial.

Dawit Isaak was arrested on September 23, 2001 after the Eritrean government's moved to shut down independent newspapers.

Thursday's publication marked Isaak's brief release on November 19, 2005 - but he was arrested a few days later.

The appeal calling for the release of Dawit Isaak was written by Peter Englund, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy that awards the coveted Nobel Prize for Literature.

'Censorship oozes an acid that dissolves the system it is aimed at protecting. And sooner or later all dictatorships fall. All of them,' Englund wrote in the appeal.

Broadcaster SVT and its commercial rival TV4 also published the text on their web sites, and Englund's fee was to be donated to Isaak's family, who live in Sweden.

Stockholm tabloid Expressen's editor-in-chief Thomas Mattsson took the initiative to approach Englund to write the appeal published in 91 newspapers and other web sites.

'The wide publication is a very strong statement,' Mattsson said.

Mattsson said information suggested Isaak was held in Eritrea's harshest prison.

Earlier this year almost 210,000 people in Sweden, which has a population of around 9 million, signed a petition for his release.

Isaak became a Swedish citizen in 1992 after seeking asylum in 1987. Isaak lived in the west coast city of Gothenburg until 2000 when he returned to Eritrea to work for the independent weekly Setit.

In May, President Isais Afeworki told Swedish broadcaster TV4 that Eritrea had no plans to release Isaak stating that he had made 'a big mistake and he is accountable for what he did.'

Afeworki declined to detail the nature of Isaak's alleged crime, and ruled out a trial.

Swedish newspapers have campaigned for Isaak's release as have human rights advocacy groups such as Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and the Swedish Journalists' Union.