Gender: Male
Current Location: Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Center
Perpetrator: Eritrea
Religion or Belief: Christian – Orthodox
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: November/19/2004
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Expression about Religion Religious Instruction & Teaching
Tekleab Mengisteab
Extra Bio Info:
Tekleab Mengisteab is detained for his religious activity and leadership role.
In November 2004, Eritrean police authorities arrested Mengisteab, an Eritrean Orthodox priest at the Mekane Hiwet Medhane-Alem Church, for leading an evangelical reform movement within the Orthodox church. Mengisteab preached, wrote, and translated Christian materials in the local language, which the government-controlled Orthodox church prohibited. Mengisteab’s arrest came amid a sweep of crackdowns on evangelical pastors and leaders of the Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) renewal movement, following the ban of evangelical churches in 2002. Authorities confined him in Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Center and held him incommunicado for over 20 years without charge or trial.
In February 2005, Eritrean police officers raided Mengisteab's church, temporarily arrested his 6-year-old daughter and other children during a children's Bible study, and confiscated their religious materials. Authorities forced Mengisteab's church to close and continued to harass his family members through house raids.
In late 2024, it was reported that Mengisteab was alive, though he had been hospitalized several times for health concerns. Prior to his detention, Mengisteab was a physician and diabetes specialist at the National Referral Hospital near his church.
Publicly Available Information:
- "Tekleab Mengisteab" The Voice of the Martyrs
- "ERITREAN PASTOR'S DAUGHTER: "I Realized My Dad Wasn't Coming Home" VOM Radio
- "IMPRISONED ERITREAN PASTOR: 'Everything Done for the Glory of Christ Will Be For Eternity'" Bott Radio Network
- "Supporting imprisoned believers in their darkest hour" Release International
Jul 1, 2025
USCIRF Releases Report on Religious Freedom and U.S. Policy in Post-Assad Syria
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following report:
Religious Freedom and U.S. Policy in Post-Assad Syria – At the end of 2024, over 13 years since the onset of Syria’s protracted civil war, the country’s political landscape dramatically shifted when a coalition of Islamist rebels toppled the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Since then, religious freedom remains under threat from a variety of actors, including loyalists to the transitional authorities, who have targeted civilians with mass sectarian attacks. This policy update provides an overview of religious freedom conditions since the fall of Assad, refining USCIRF’s most recent policy recommendations to the U.S. government to address Syria’s rapidly evolving religious freedom conditions.
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State name Syria to the Special Watch List for state violators of severe abuses of religious freedom, pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). In May, a USCIRF Spotlight Podcast episode highlighted ongoing threats to religious communities in post-Assad Syria, and the 2022 Factsheet on Religious Freedom in Syria Under HTS examined the U.S.-designated terrorist group’s abuses of religious freedom in the rebel territory it held before it led the overthrow of the Assad regime.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].
Jun 30, 2025
USCIRF Releases Report on Religious Freedom in Russia
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the following report:
Russia Country Update – The Russian government perpetrates particularly severe violations of religious freedom against a range of religious groups and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) actors, in blatant violation of international law. This report provides updates on persecuted religious groups and other FoRB actors in Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine and highlights recent cases of FoRB violations.
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Russia as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. In April, USCIRF released a report on Russia’s blasphemy enforcement.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected]