A former Eritrean finance minister who was arrested in 2018 after calling Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki a dictator has died in prison, his family told VOA Horn of Africa Service.

The Eritrean government has remained silent on the death of Berhane Abrehe, who served as the country’s finance minister from 2001 to 2012. The reason for his death was not disclosed, but the government allowed his funeral to take place in Asmara on August 22.

“He died in prison after being held incommunicado for about six years despite his fragile health,” said Ephrem Berhane, Berhane Abrehe’s son, who lives in the eastern US state of Maryland.

Berhane was not charged or allowed to visit family despite his failing health, according to his Maryland-based nephew Solomon Habtom, who originally facilitated the publication of Berhane’s controversial book critical of the Eritrean government.

“In the last days before his death, they allowed his wife to visit him at the Air Force hospital where he died,” Solomon said.

Berhane clashed with the Isaias government in 2012 over disagreements over the government’s handling of the country’s finances. He was arrested in 2018, shortly after living in Eritrea and publishing a two-volume book abroad.

Before his arrest, he called Isaias a “dictator” and called on him to resign. In a widely circulated audiotape, Berhane challenged Isaias to a public debate with him.

His family paid tribute to a “principled family man who cared deeply about the common good,” Solomon said.

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor condemned Berhane’s lengthy detention.

“We are saddened to hear of the death of former Eritrean Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe in prison,” said the post on social media platform X. “He was arrested in 2018 after publishing a book on the state of governance in his country Eritrea. We call on the (Eritrean) government to respect the fundamental freedoms of its citizens and release all those unjustly detained.”

The Eritrean government has not confirmed Berhane’s arrest in 2018. State media, which has announced the deaths of high-ranking figures in the past, also did not publish news of his death. Still, supporters flocked to his funeral, said Solomon, who received the information from sources in the country.

Despite several attempts, VOA has received no comment from the Eritrean government.

In an honour bestowed only on those on active duty and an unusual move by the Eritrean government, Berhane’s body was buried at the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Asmara.

This story originally appeared in the Tigrigna service of VOA Horn of Africa.