US-Eritrean Relations Come under Fire over Human Rights ; One Rights Group Is Asking the Government to Free Some 300 Political Prisoners Friday

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When Eritrea marks the 10th anniversary of its independence Friday, Alli Alamin and Kiflom Ghebremichael won't be joining in the celebrations. The two employees of the US Embassy here in the Eritrean capital are imprisoned without charge; US diplomats don't know where they're being held.

The detention of the two men for the past year and a half is part of what human rights groups describe as a wider crackdown on political freedoms that is tarnishing the reputation of a country previously seen as one of Africa's bright stars. More than 300 people - ruling party dissidents, independent journalists, conscientious objectors, civil servants, and ordinary citizens who made one …