Source: Raoul Wallenberg Centre
Montreal – 23 September 2026 – Today marks 25 years since Swedish-Eritrean journalist
Dawit Isaak was forcibly disappeared and arbitrarily detained by Eritrean authorities.
Arrested alongside several fellow journalists in September 2001, Mr. Isaak and his colleagues are now the world’s longest-detained journalists.
For a quarter century, he and his imprisoned colleagues have been held without charge or trial, denied contact with their families, deprived of basic legal protections, and denied basic humanitarian safeguards.
Dawit Isaak is a Swedish citizen. The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights along with a broad international coalition of human rights groups is urging Swedish and EU officials to take meaningful action on his case while there is still time.
A Test for Europe
Dawit Isaak’s case is a test of whether Sweden and the European Union are willing and able to protect their citizens when they are subjected to grave human rights violations abroad. For 25 years, that test has gone unanswered.
But it is not too late.
For 25 years, Swedish and EU officials responsible for foreign affairs, consular protection, and human rights policy have been unable to secure any meaningful progress in his case. Given the prolonged length of Mr. Isaak’s detention and the severity of the conditions he has been forced to endure, there is no time to lose.
In September 2025, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard publicly requested Dawit Isaak’s immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds. A year later, Eritrean authorities have still not complied with her demand. Nor have they provided any meaningful update about Mr. Isaak’s location or physical condition.
So far, no one in the Eritrean regime has been held accountable for the grave violations committed against Mr. Isaak. That must change.
“It is unconscionable that Dawit Isaak has spent a quarter century behind bars without charge or trial. His imprisonment is one of the world’s longest-running cases of arbitrary detention of a journalist. Twenty-five years without liberty, due process, or contact with family is not only a failure of justice, but a grave injustice. Time is of the essence. Sweden and the European Union must act with urgency before it is too late.” – Judith Abitan, Executive Director, RWCHR
Mr. Isaak’s three children, all based in Sweden, have been forced to grow up without their father. Their hope—and the hope of the many others who continue to advocate on his behalf—is that justice, humanity, and compassion will ultimately prevail.
Global Appeal for Action
The Global Appeal for Action for Dawit Isaak is led by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and endorsed by an international coalition of human rights groups, comprised of: Committee to Protect Journalists, Edelstam Foundation, Eritrea Focus, Free Dawit, Global Liberty Alliance, Hostage Aid Worldwide, Human Rights Foundation, Human Rights Solidarity, Pen Eritrea and Reporters Without Borders.
The Coalition is urging Swedish and EU officials to secure without further delay:
- Proof of life;
- Consular access;
- Independent medical care; and
- Dawit Isaak’s immediate release and transfer to Sweden.
QUOTES FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS GO HERE
Interviews available upon request.
Background
Dawit Isaak was arrested on September 23, 2001 alongside a dozen fellow journalists and numerous government officials who voiced concern over President Afwerki’s failure to introduce democratic reforms.
Since then, he and his imprisoned colleagues have been cut off from the outside world and denied their fundamental rights to due process. Many are feared dead. Those who remain alive continue to endure incommunicado detention under inhumane and secretive conditions.
The last direct contact with Mr. Isaak dates back to 2005. Despite the absence of any clear proof of life since that time, Swedish officials have repeatedly stated that they continue to assume that Dawit Isaak is alive.Mr. Isaak is among thousands of political prisoners being held in Eritrea.
