Christian prisoners released in Eritrea Eritrea (MNN) — At least 31 Christians have been released from prison in Eritrea, many after being held for more than 10 years. The government may be releasing prisoners to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In 2002, Eritrea outlawed all religions aside from Sunni Islam, The Eritrean Orthodox Church, Roman Catholicism, and the Lutheran Church. However, the government keeps a tight leash on these churches as well. People who worship in unregistered churches are considered enemies of the state. Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada says Eritrea used to be a part of Ethiopia, and the Gospel grew quickly after the country gained its independence. “Evangelical churches especially were growing. Many people were leaving the state church and becoming evangelicals. And that caused some difficulty for the state church. The government began to basically shut down evangelical churches. Once the churches were closed down, believers continued to meet, and then they were arrested.”