SWEDEN
29 January 2025
Question 2024/25:705 concerning The Government’s Efforts to Secure Dawit Isaak’s Release
by Rasmus Ling (MP)
Read the original question in Swedish here
Written question 2024/25:705 by Rasmus Ling (MP) (2025-01-23)
To Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
A few months ago, in October 2024, the Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak turned 60 years old. For more than half of his adult life, he has been imprisoned in Eritrea. Dawit Isaak has committed no crime; the reason the Eritrean dictatorship keeps him imprisoned is that he worked for what we take for granted in Sweden and other democracies—the right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech.
During the 23 years that have passed since his imprisonment, various governments have made efforts to secure Dawit Isaak’s release. However, so far, these efforts have yielded no results. Isaak remains imprisoned, and more must be done to bring him home to his family.
In light of this, I would like to ask Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard:
How are the Minister and the government working to ensure that Dawit Isaak is released and allowed to return home to Sweden?
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Response to Question 2024/25:705 – The Government’s Efforts to Secure Dawit Isaak’s Release
Read the original response in Swedish here
To Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Response to question 2024/25:705 from Rasmus Ling (MP)
The Government’s Efforts to Secure Dawit Isaak’s Release
Rasmus Ling has asked me how I and the government are working to ensure that Dawit Isaak is released and allowed to return home to Sweden.
It is deeply concerning that Dawit Isaak has been imprisoned without trial for over 23 years. It is important to emphasize that Eritrea is holding Dawit Isaak in detention, and the responsibility for this lies with them.
The government is strongly committed and working with determination on Dawit Isaak’s case to secure his release and reunification with his family.
The case is continuously raised at various levels, both bilaterally and in multinational forums. I have personally addressed the case with my Eritrean counterpart. Sweden also demands consular access, meaning the right to visit Dawit Isaak in prison. Our demands have not yet been met by Eritrea.
In the most recent government statement, the Prime Minister stressed that the government will continue its efforts to achieve Dawit Isaak’s release, and my predecessor did the same in the foreign policy declaration in February last year. This remains unchanged.
Stockholm, 29 January 2025
Maria Malmer Stenergard
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