Violence among Eritreans in Germany: government opponents arrested on suspicion of terrorism

dpa | The Federal Prosecutor's Office has had two suspected members of an Eritrean terrorist group active in Germany arrested near Saarbrücken and in Stuttgart. The Karlsruhe authorities accuse the men of membership in a domestic terrorist organization. They will now be brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, who will decide on pre-trial detention.

According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the declared goal of the internationally networked association “Brigade N'Hamedu Germany” is to overthrow the government in Eritrea. She pursued this goal in Germany through violence at events organized by supporters of the Eritrean government. “The members of the association viewed violence against German state institutions and representatives of state power – for example police forces who were deployed to protect the events – as a legitimate means,” said the authority.

In connection with the investigations against the group, the Federal Prosecutor's Office had 19 properties in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Rhineland-Palatinate searched in March 2025. A search also took place in Denmark. According to information at the time, 200 officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office and state police forces were on duty. Nobody was arrested at that time.

The background is the riots on the sidelines of Eritrean festivals in Giessen in the summer of 2022 and 2023 as well as a seminar by an Eritrean association in September 2023 in Stuttgart. The Eritrea festivals in Giessen were organized by the Central Council of Eritreans in Germany, which is considered close to the government. Critics accuse the festival organizers of carrying out propaganda for the Eritrean government, which the organizers deny.

The two arrested men - an Eritrean and a German national - are said to have played a key role in building up the structures of the “Brigade N'Hamedu Germany” and in organizing the violent actions. The Eritrean was temporarily general secretary and the German was the group's first chairman.

The country in the Horn of Africa with around four million inhabitants is characterized by systematic repression, violence and the denial of basic human rights. According to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the authoritarian government of President Isaias Afwerki oppresses the population through forced labor, forced conscription and restricted freedom of expression, belief and the press.

There are also reports of large-scale massacres, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence by security forces. The government of the one-party state, which does not hold elections, rejects the allegations as politically motivated.