Release International Board member, Revd Dr Berhane Asmelash, met with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP at the Foreign and Commonwealth office on December 20th. The meeting was convened by the Human Rights and Democracy Department to hear the testimony of survivors of persecution. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby also attended.
Dr Berhane was imprisoned and tortured for his Christian Faith in Eritrea and was able to draw the Foreign Secretary’s attention to all those who remain in prison simply for being followers of Jesus Christ.
Dr Berhane said: “I had the opportunity to connect my own story to the current situation in Eritrea. I was given the chance to speak to ministers and different people. I do not know where will this take us but it is better to be a voice for the voiceless. It is also good to introduce our work to the UK government. At the end the Archbishop of Canterbury gave a short speech which was also comforting.”
If you want to support the ministry of Release International as it works on-the-ground alongside those being persecuted, please visit https://releaseinternational.org/give/ or https://releaseinternational.org/pray/. God bless you as you stand with persecuted Christians this Christmas.