Tsehaye Tesfamariam died in Asmara on November 30, 2016. He was released from prison on September 10, 2015, because he was critically ill and did not receive proper medical care and treatment during his incarceration. He was born in 1941 in Nefasit, Eritrea, and is survived by his wife, Hagosa Kebreab, whom he married in 1973. They had four daughters and three sons. He was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1958.

Mr. Tesfamariam was imprisoned at the Meitir Camp since his arrest for unknown reasons in January 2009. On October 5, 2011, Mr. Tesfamariam and 24 other male Witnesses imprisoned at the Meitir Camp were placed in a half-buried metal building for special punishment until August 2012. After enduring through the intense summer heat with inadequate food and insufficient water, the health of several of them became critical.

As a result of their ordeal, Misghina Gebretinsae and Yohannes Haile died in the Meitir prison, and Kahssay Mekonnen and Goitom Gebrekristos died after their release. Mr. Tesfamariam’s death adds to this toll.