Date: Friday, 19 December 2025
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) has just returned from a two-day visit to Eritrea. There have been no signs of life, but nothing that contradicts the assessment that Dawit Isaak is alive.
– We believe that we have better conditions for continued talks on important issues, including the issue of Dawit Isaak, says Stenergard.
The fact that the government does not go into more detail about how it works in its consular cases should not be mistaken for passivity, says the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Talking publicly about everything we do does not benefit those affected or their relatives,” she says, emphasizing that a release is the goal.
Nothing has changed the Foreign Ministry's assessment that Dawit Isaak is alive, says Stenergard at the press conference.
– We have not received any concrete evidence of life, but our assessment based on the contacts we have had and the information we have received is that he is still alive.
No agreements have been made between the Swedish and Eritrean governments.
The Foreign Minister does not want to speculate on whether the chances of Dawit Isaak being released have increased after the visit.
– What my visit has led to is a new dynamic where we have greater opportunities to discuss difficult issues like this, says Stenergard.
This is the first time a Swedish minister has visited Eritrea since the country became independent in 1993.
– I am convinced that we need more dialogue and this applies to a number of different issues. We have recently seen some changes, including the decision to release a large number of prisoners in Eritrea. I think it is good that we were able to have this visit, says Stenergard.
Journalist Martin Schibbye, who was imprisoned in neighboring Ethiopia for 438 days, praises the Foreign Minister for her visit, calling it "a great act of political courage."
The changed situation in Eritrea's immediate vicinity may also have provided better conditions for relations with the country.
– Sweden has tried to go before but Eritrea has said no. But now we have a different situation in the Horn of Africa with a threat of war from Ethiopia where Eritrea wants to expand its bilateral relations, says Schibbye.
After Stenergard's press conference, SVT reaches Dawit Isaak's daughter, Betlehem Isaak.
– It's simply a stalemate. She still hasn't received an answer to the question that was asked about our father being acquitted. That's how it is with these states, we relatives have to continue to live in uncertainty, she says.
She looks positively at a future meeting with the Foreign Minister.
– They have said they want to see each other and so do we. I don't know when, but probably as soon as possible.
