Translated summary of Op-Ed article by Björn Tunbäck and Erik Larsson from Reporters Sans Frontiers Sweden (Reportrar utan gränser), published in Swedish in Göteborgs-Posten on December 11, 2025.
In a recent and unexpected development, Eritrea has released 13 prisoners who had been held without trial for 18 years. This raises new hope for the case of Dawit Isaak, the Swedish-Eritrean journalist who has now been imprisoned for nearly 25 years — without trial, access to a lawyer, or contact with family. According to Reporters Without Borders, no other regime in the world is known to have imprisoned journalists for as long.
Eritrea remains at the very bottom (180/180) of the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, with no independent media, no foreign journalists, and complete state control of information. The recent prisoner releases, while not officially acknowledged by the regime, offer a rare opening for renewed pressure.
The authors ask: What will the Swedish government do now? Despite previous diplomatic efforts, Sweden still hasn’t been granted consular access to Isaak, a right under international law. The op-ed urges the Swedish government to act more forcefully, including:
- Seeking cooperation with France and Germany, where family members of other imprisoned journalists live
- Exploring EU-level initiatives
- Considering legal steps, such as investigating potential crimes against humanity in Isaak’s case
The release of the 13 prisoners shows that movement is possible, and Sweden must seize this moment to escalate pressure on the Eritrean regime.
Link to original article (behind pay-wall)
