[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF SEYOUM TSEHAYE

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                          HON. PATRICK MEEHAN

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2016

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, in honor of World Press Freedom Day--which 
was observed last week--I rise today to recognize the bravery of 
journalist Seyoum Tsehaye and to support press freedom around the 
world.
   Seyoum Tsehaye is the uncle of Vanessa Berhe, a Villanova student 
who started the organization One Day Seyoum to advocate for press 
freedom and the release of unjustly imprisoned journalists in Eritrea.
   In September 2001, the Eritrean government detained a number of 
journalists who had spoken out against the government. Seyoum Tsehaye 
was one of the journalists detained. He was taken from his home without 
an official arrest warrant. Mr. Tsehaye remains in prison and has yet 
to receive a trial.
   Mr. Speaker, freedom of the press and freedom from unjust detainment 
are pillars of democracy and good governance here in the United States 
and in nations around the world.

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