Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3663654.stm

On September 17, 2004 the BBC News reported, "If you are Catholic, Muslim, or a member of the Orthodox and Evangelical churches in Eritrea then it seems you can breathe easy. However, those who believe and practise minority faiths are routinely persecuted, according to human rights groups. Two years ago the Eritrean government introduced a registration system for religions which forced groups to submit information about themselves in order to be allowed to worship. Apart from the four mentioned, other faiths have not been recognised. And human rights groups have regularly complained that people practising minority religions have faced harassment... [An American journalist] told me she repeatedly heard from individuals telling her police had taken them off and beaten them after interrupting them praying at home with friends... a statement from the foreign ministry rejected accusations of religious persecutions from the United States. The government seems to have decided that anyone who does not follow a certain standard is an enemy of the people, is an enemy of the state."