A source who was previously detained in Mai Serwa told media that the group had been arrested in October 2007 following an assassination attempt on Col Simon Gebredingil, a senior internal security official. Around thirty people were initially detained. Some were released over the years, but about twenty remained in custody until now.
Zeragaber competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics when Eritrea was still part of Ethiopia. The country has since developed a strong cycling culture, with its athletes gaining international presence in recent years. Those released alongside Zeragaber include businessmen Tesfalem Mengsteab and Bekure Mebrahtu, as well as brothers David and Matthews Habtemariam, an engineer and a geometrist. Six senior police officers and an internal security agent were also freed.
The Eritrean government has not issued any statement. Relatives say many of the detainees are in poor health, which may explain the timing of their release. Families were never permitted to visit them during their detention. Human rights organisations and the UN have long accused Eritrean authorities of torture, forced disappearance and detaining thousands in inhumane conditions. Mai Serwa prison, located northwest of Asmara, has expanded to include metal shipping containers used to hold prisoners incommunicado, according to media sources.
Last year, Berhane Abrehe, a former finance minister who had served under President Isaias Afwerki for eleven years, died in detention after six years in custody. He had been arrested after publishing a book criticising the president and urging him to resign. He was never taken to court.
Eritrea remains a one party state with no functioning constitution and indefinite military conscription. There has been no free press since independent newspapers were shut down in 2001 and dozens of journalists and politicians were arrested. According to Amnesty International, the fate of many, including members of the G 15 group of politicians, remains unknown.
President Isaias, now seventy nine, has ruled for thirty two years and has never faced an election.