10 Worst Dictators In Power Today

Following Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia in 1991, President Isaias Afwerki became the nation's first president. While this was a happy occasion for Eritreans, the country only had one political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which became problematic due to the lack of opposition then and now.

In the beginning, the country formed itself with a standard set of political institutions including a justice and nationwide education system but an ongoing problem with political "dissent" created a humanitarian crisis that continues unabated.

By June of 2014, the United Nations declared Afwerki and his party guilty of human rights abuses when they stated he "has imposed a reign of fear through systematic and extreme abuses of the population that may amount to crimes against humanity."

Allegations of torture for punishment as a means to coerce fabricated guilt among the believed 10,000+ political prisoners in the country have raised concerns across the globe. Amnesty International has repeatedly decried the President and Reporters Without Borders ranked the government of Eritrea at the bottom of its list of "press-freedom" for eight years running.