We at AEJE (Association of Eritrean Journalists in Exile) are saddened and outraged by the unjust detention of Mr. Jemal Osman Humed and other opposition members by the Sudanese government and we thus call for their immediate release.

It is widely known that Eritrean journalists have been one of the most persecuted groups in the world. The Eritrean government has hunted down Eritrean journalists and made the nation the biggest jailor of journalists in the world for many years in a row. Many of our colleagues, the Eritrean journalists, have been languishing in jail for more than a decade and others have fled to exile.

Mr. Jemal Osman Humed, an exiled journalist, has done nothing wrong except exercising his right of expression. A long time veteran journalist, Mr. Jemal Hummed has worked tirelessly for the cause of human rights and democracy. After independence of Eritrea, he went to Eritrea and worked for the Eritrean Radio-Arabic Program.

Unable to continue, like many of his exiled colleagues, he fled Eritrea since Eritrea was becoming simply the biggest jailor of journalists. Unlike most his colleagues, he chose to reside in the Sudan and continued to work as a journalist and online editor for ww.adoulis.com. A hardworking, selfless and courageous journalist, Mr. Jemal Osman Humed was one of the pioneers of Arabic opposition websites. As a professional journalist, he earned and cultivated respectable readership.

It is so unacceptable and reprehensible to see, Mr. Jemal Osman Humed, being subjected to unjust detention in a country he and we believed was safe. Exiles who fled brutal tyranny should feel welcomed and safe in the land of their refuge. This is doubly true for activists and journalists who dared to challenge injustice risking their life. Undoubtedly, the detention of Jemal Osman Humed by the Sudanese government is a mockery of the international refugee protection system and a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights (Article, 14) and other international human rights instruments.

Moreover, we at AEJE are also extremely concerned by the recent decision of the Sudanese regime to deport hundreds of refugees to Eritrea. Sending vulnerable Eritreans to imminent danger is simply barbaric. To this end, several human rights watchdogs have condemned the deportation of refugees.  Looking the matter of Jemal Osman Humed in this perspective, we are thus highly alarmed by the action of Sudanese government.

Finally, we call upon international media watchdogs, the international community, governments and non-governmental organizations to request the Sudanese government to release Mr. Jemal Osman Humed and other opposition members. We also would like to thank for those who took up the cause and we would like to remind them to double their efforts before it is too late.

Association of Eritrean Journalists in Exile (AEJE)