Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo (born 1948), commonly known simply as Sherifo, served briefly as the Head of State of

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 ...

while the President was away. He joined the

Eritrean Liberation Front ar, جبهة التحرير الإريترية it, Fronte di Liberazione Eritreo , war = the Ethiopian Civil War, Eritrean War of Independence and the Eritrean Civil Wars , image = , caption = Flag of the ELF ...

in 1967. He was an independent activist during Eritrea's war of independence from Ethiopia. Post-independence, he served in various capacities as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Local Government. In September 2001 he was detained indefinitely along with other politicians who were known as the 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 ...

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 ...

has named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release in 2011.

Political career

Eritrean People's Liberation Front Executive Committee 1977-1987

He joined the

in 1967. He was an independent activist during Eritrea's war of independence from Ethiopia. Post-independence, he served as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

before his last posting as Minister of Local Government. During this time he was also appointed Chairman of the Committee to prepare the draft laws concerning the first round of National Elections and the Political Party laws. Once the drafts were completed the Chairman of the National Assembly (and President),

summoned a report on the drafts. Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo was detained for his hazy role (schemes that occurred on May 19, 1993), and for orchestrating a coup d'état in 2001.

Arrest

He has been detained since 2001 following the G-15 affair. Dissidents suggest he has been detained for campaigning for

democratic reform Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

s, while official sources contend that his detention is a consequence of "discreetly...solicit ngsupport in government circles for ousting the president, and to seek US and UN intervention to end the war on

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

's surrender terms" while being detained. In September 2001 he was detained indefinitely along with other politicians who were known as the G-15, a group which opposed the rule of Eritrean president

. Mahmud along with 15 other ministers were arrested by the ruling front and 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 fired along with other opposing members and was detained on 18 September 2001. He was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. Although Eritrea has no post of vice president, nonetheless some sources have listed Sherifo as the vice president, and continue to do so (2006)."Country Profile: Eritrea: Politics: Main political figures" ''Economist Intelligence Unit'' 1 June 2006

has named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherifo, Mahmoud Ahmed 1948 births People from Southern Region (Eritrea) Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Eritrea Eritrean diplomats Eritrean prisoners and detainees Possibly living people People's Front for Democracy and Justice politicians Government ministers of Eritrea Foreign ministers of Eritrea Vice presidents