Zerai Kiros, Eritrean human rights activist living in Frankfurt, is one of the organizers of the ‘Ride4Justice’ campaign. In the interview, he explains the underlying reasons of the Ride4Justice project which aimed to bring attention on the situation of migrants in Libyan detention centers where thousands of people are trapped, in a growing climate of political tension and military instability.
From May 1st to 5th, Eritrean refugees cycled from Frankfurt to Brussels, for 452 kilometers. The ‘Ride4Justice’ started from Frankfurt, Koblenz, Köln, Aachen from there to Maastricht and finally to Brussels, to raise awareness about the inhumane conditions that refugees and migrants in Libya are trapped in. Torture, lack of food, water, and other abuse takes place in human trafficking warehouses and official detention centres alike. The cyclists arrived Sunday evening at the Maximilian Park in Brussels after the five-day bike ride. On Monday, hundreds joined them to take part in a demonstration in front of the European Commission buildings at Rond-Point Schuman.
In this week’s news highlights: conditions deteriorate in the Zintan detention centre in Libya; MSF reports the degrading conditions for refugees in Tripoli centre; Refugees in Tunisian UNHCR shelter driven to suicide attempts; Political and economical instabilly and protest continue in Sudan; UN Human Rights Council discusses lack of progress on human rights in Eritrea; EU’s continued engagement in Eritrea criticised; Ethnic violence and humanitarian crisis threaten to escalate in Southern Ethiopia; Head of mission Libya of MSF criticises Europe’s and France’s migration policy; NGO Alarmphone alarmed by European policy to deter refugees and migrants; and asylum applications in the EU in 2018 decline to pre-2014 levels.