Jimi’ie Kimeil, an investigative journalist and sports editor at the state-run Arabic-language newspaper Eritrea al-Haditha, was arrested on November 24, 2005, in a wave of detentions that included other prominent figures in Eritrea.
Like most of those arrested, Jimi’ie’s whereabouts, health, and legal status remain unknown as the Eritrean government has repeatedly failed to provide credible answers to questions about imprisoned journalists or to allow visits from family or lawyers. CPJ has been unable to confirm reports that Jimi’ie died in custody in 2007 and retains his name on the prison census to hold the government accountable for his fate.
Eritrean authorities arrested Jim’ie as part of a crackdown on leading voices in politics and the arts, according to Mohammed Hiyabu, an exiled journalist who worked with Jim’ie and wrote a tribute to him, and the freedom of expression advocacy group PEN International. The government of Eritrea has never confirmed his imprisonment.
Prior to his arrest, Jim’ie’s criticism of the government caused tension with his employer, the ministry of information, which publishes Eritrea al-Haditha, Mohammed said. Jim’ie often criticized government policies at staff meetings, he said. In one example, Jim’ie wrote in 2001 about a government decision to give a visiting International Olympic Committee delegate a cross, which he argued was an inappropriate symbol to represent a multi-religious country. After the article was published, authorities warned Jim’ie to cease critical writing.
Jimi’ie was arrested in the wake of a government crackdown on independent media following a ban on the privately owned press on September 18, 2001, in response to growing criticism of President Isaias Afwerki. In the weeks that followed, about 13 journalists were taken into custody after several of them wrote to the Ministry of Information demanding clarification on the government’s sudden decision.
The diaspora-run Radio Erena and free speech organization PEN Eritrea have reported rumors that Jim’ie was killed in 2007 but they could not independently confirm his death. CPJ also has been unable to confirm the reports.
Over the years, Eritrean officials have offered vague and inconsistent explanations for the arrests of journalists — accusing them of involvement in anti-state conspiracies in connection with foreign intelligence, skirting military service, and violating press regulations. Officials, at times, even denied that the journalists existed.
Meanwhile, shreds of often unverifiable, second- or third-hand information smuggled out by people fleeing into exile suggested that seven journalists arrested in 2001 had died in custody.
In a May 2024 report, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, expressed concern about prolonged, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances and said that the journalists arrested in 2001 were the “longest-detained journalists in the world,” imprisoned for almost 23 years without charges or trial.
As of late 2024, CPJ had yet to receive any replies to emails requesting comment from information minister Yemane Ghebremeskel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice.