One Swedish prisoner has sat in an Eritrean cell for 25 years, while Europe continues its dialogue that has proved wholly ineffective.
A guest dispatch in Poblete Dispatches by Susanne Berger and Caroline Edelstam, who have long worked the Dawit Isaak case; from July 29th, 2026, in Sweden’s Global Bar Magazine, a publication that fiercely tracks international human rights abuses, government accountability, and the global war on a free press.
The EU and Sweden’s decision to seek an enhanced dialogue with Eritrea, while canceling their continued engagement with Cuba, suggests a clear double standard. Sussanne and Caroline discuss how the decision raises even more questions given the fact that the Eritrean regime refuses to release Swedish and EU citizen Dawit Isaak, who has been unlawfully imprisoned in Eritrea for close to 25 years.
Mr. Isaak’s family has received no credible proof of life, nor an update on his health or location, despite the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmer Stenergard, calling for Mr. Isaak’s immediate release on humanitarian grounds almost nine months ago.
The featured illustration was provided by the authors and was created with an AI image generator
