Aster Fissehatsion (also known as Astier Fesehazion) (born 1956) is an
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
n politician and an
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
prisoner of conscience. She is the former wife of former Vice-President of Eritrea,
Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo
Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo (born 1948), commonly known simply as Sherifo, served briefly as the Head of State of Eritrea while the President was away. He joined the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1967. He was an independent activist during Eritrea's war ...
.
She was detained in September 2001 for being part of the
G-15. On 18 September 2001, she was detained indefinitely along with other politicians of G-15, a group which opposed the rule of Eritrean president
Isaias Afewerki
Isaias Afwerki ( ti, ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in M ...
. Aster along with 15 other ministers were detained in unknown location ever since. The ministers were criticizing the border war of the then president, Isaias and signed an open letter.
Political life
She joined
Eritrean People's Liberation Front
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group ...
(EPLF) in 1974 and became a leading figure in the struggle for independence in Eritrea. Following independence, she held the following positions: member of the Central Council of
People's Front for Democracy and Justice
The People's Front for Democracy and Justice ( ti, ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንደሞክራስን ፍትሕን, PFDJ) is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the left-wing nationalist ...
(PFDJ)(In 1994, the
EPLF changed its name to
PFDJ
The People's Front for Democracy and Justice ( ti, ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንደሞክራስን ፍትሕን, PFDJ) is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the left-wing nationalist ...
) member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
; Director of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
[
In 1996, Fissehatsion was dismissed from her job for criticising the increasingly authoritarian government, but was reinstated in 1999. In May 2001, she was one of 15 senior party officials, later known as the G-15, who published an open letter calling for "peaceful and democratic dialogue"; and calling on President ]Isaias Afewerki
Isaias Afwerki ( ti, ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in M ...
to adhere to correct parliamentary and governance procedures, hold internal party meetings, and keep the promises made by the PFDJ in respect of judicial reform.[
]
Arrest
She was detained in September 2001 for being part of the G-15. On 18 September 2001, she was detained indefinitely along with other politicians of G-15, a group which opposed the rule of Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki
Isaias Afwerki ( ti, ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in M ...
. Aster along with ten other ministers were detained in unknown location ever since. The ministers were criticizing the border war of the then president, Isaia and signed an open letter. He was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. Since the arrest, various governments and self help groups have sought the Eritrean government to the release of the arrested. A mass campaign was launched in Amnesty International during 2011 to the effect. Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
declared her and the ten others arrested as prisoner of conscience and sought immediate release of them. She was the only woman out of the 11 who were detained and out of the 15 who opposed, three fled the country and one withdrew support.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fissehatsion, Aster
1956 births
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Eritrea
Government ministers of Eritrea
Living people
Eritrean prisoners and detainees
Members of the National Assembly (Eritrea)
People's Front for Democracy and Justice politicians
Women government ministers of Eritrea