Former Eritrean finance minister Berhane Abrehe, who became a critic of the authoritarian regime of President Isaias Afwerki, has died in prison, a human rights group said.
Berhane, who had been detained for six years without charge, died at the age of 79 on Monday, Human Rights Concern Eritrea said in a statement on Thursday.
He was arrested in September 2018, shortly after the publication of a book that was highly critical of the Eritrean regime and has been held incommunicado ever since the UK-based group said on its website.
Dubbed the “North Korea” of Africa, Eritrea has been ruled with an iron fist by Isaias since it formally declared independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after three decades of war.
During the independence struggle, Berhane, a member of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), became a prominent political figure, holding several positions in government, including being a finance minister for about a decade.
“Discontent with the nation’s trajectory led him to take a bold step,” his official website said, referring to the publication of his book “Hagerey Eritrea,” or “Eritrea, My Nation,” which called for democratic reforms.
Amnesty International said at the time of his arrest that it “further tarnished Eritrea’s already deplorable human rights record”.
The Horn of Africa nation is one of the most closed and authoritarian in the world. It is near the bottom of global rankings for press freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and economic development.