Like everything else in Eritrea, the media are totally subject to the whim of President Issayas Afeworki, a press freedom predator guilty of ācrimes against humanity,ā according to a June 2016 UN report. He has no plans to loosen his grip. āThose who think there will be democracy in this county can think so in another world,ā he said in 2014. The only independent and politically non-partisan radio station providing Eritreans with freely reported news and information isĀ Radio Erena, but its signal is often jammed in Eritrea. Run by Eritrean exile journalists based in Paris, it celebrated its 10th birthday in 2019. It is even hard to access credible news online in Eritrea, where the Internet penetration rate is less than 2%, one of the lowest in Africa. Eritreans are closely watched and, in Internet cafĆ©s, must provide their ID details before being allowed to connect.