"Kväv regimen!" Det skriver i dag Dawit Isaaks bror Esayas i ett öppet brev till EU-parlamentet. Dawit Isaak har i dag suttit fängslad i 3000 dagar.
My name is Esayas Isak. I am the brother of Dawit who has been imprisoned in Eritrea since 2001.
I address you as a citizen of the European Union. And as such I am deeply disappointed over the decision to grant financial aid to one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world. I and many more exiled Eritreans are shocked that the European Union is naïve enough to believe in normalized relations with the oppressors in Asmara. One obvious outcome of this decision is the prolonging of my brother’s suffering in Eritrean prison.
I address you as a brother and friend. And as such, where can I turn to for support? To the regime that is detaining my brother and torturing him? Or to the Union that is paying for the torture? And if my brother is killed – will you accept responsibility? Because I know that the regime will not? During the eight years that Dawit has been imprisoned, no one has had the right to visit him. The last time a talked to him was during his two days of freedom in 2005.
Time is running out for my brother – his health is very fragile. In what way will the EU put pressure on his captors? I want my brother to come home to his family and me alive – not in a coffin!
I address you as a citizen of Sweden. And I demand that my country acts before the EU presidency is over. You must set the tone. What will be the strategy vis-à-vis Eritrea? What will be the relationship between the EU and Isayas Afewerki? You did not demand that Dawit and the other journalists should be set free before granting aid, but will you have the courage to act now?
And I address you all as a citizen of the world. And I ask you: Why not issue a travel ban against the members of the regime as you did with Mugabe? Why not seize all assets of the Eritrean state and illegalize all transfers of funds into Eritrea. This would suffocate the oppressive regime and possibly provide some air to its victims.
KIND REGARDS, ESAYAS ISAK