# ‘We demand the truth’: Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee call for proof of life of disappeared Eritrean writers

https://mins.news/en/item/63894

- The Guardian, 2026-09-18 08:30 UTC
- Culture
- Original: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/18/olga-tokarczuk-j-m-coetzee-lead-calls-for-release-of-disappeared-eritrean-writers

> A letter signed by 188 writers urges Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to provide verified proof of life for 12 writers detained incommunicado since a 2001 crackdown on free expression. Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee are among the signatories, while PEN International plans to deliver the letter to Eritrea’s London embassy.