Swedish journalist freed after 4 yearsrs in Eritrean prison

Nov 19, 2005 (STOCKHOLM) — A Swedish journalist of Eritrean origin was unexpectedly released from a prison in his native country Saturday, after being jailed for four years for demanding press freedom in Eritrea, a family friend said.

Dawit Isaak, 41, was “feeling really well” after his release, said Leif Obrink, a close friend of Isaak’s family who has led an organization in Sweden fighting for his release.

Obrink said Isaak called him at his home in Lerum in southern Sweden on Saturday morning after he was set free.

“This is incredible, it is so fantastic,” Obrink said. “He was very happy.”

Isaak came to Sweden in 1987 as a war refugee, but returned to the eastern African country in the 1990s to become a reporter at an independent newspaper. He was one of several journalists at the newspaper who were arrested and imprisoned without a trial after demanding press freedom on Sept. 18, 2001.

Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, has previously ignored Swedish requests for Isaak’s release, and it was unclear why authorities decided to set him free.

Obrink credited diplomatic efforts by Swedish Ambassador Bengt Sparre, who has spent several months pressuring Eritrean authorities to release Isaak.

“I think it has a lot to do with (Sparre’s) efforts,” Obrink said.

He said Isaak plans to return to Sweden as soon as possible to be reunited with his wife and three children.

Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds said she felt relief after hearing about the release, Swedish news agency TT reported.

“I have met his wife Sofia, and talked to his children and understand what an extremely terrible situation this has been for them,” Freivalds was quoted as saying.

(AP/ST)