Berhane Abrehe, a former Eritrean finance minister and vocal critic of President Isaias Afwerki, has died in prison, his family confirmed. The 79-yearold was Eritrea’s longest-serving finance minister before his removal in 2012 due to clashes with the president. He was later jailed in 2018 for publishing a book that described President Afwerki as a “dictator” who needed to resign.

Abrehe’s family has not been informed of the circumstances surrounding his death, and his body has not been released. The government rarely confirms the deaths of senior officials in custody or shares information on their burial sites.

Abrehe’s fall-out with President Afwerki began during his 12-year tenure as finance minister, where he advocated for transparency in the country’s budget. After his removal, he wrote a book challenging the president’s rule and calling for his resignation.

Eritrea has been criticized for its human rights record, including torture, forced disappearance, and imprisonment of tens of thousands of people in inhumane conditions. The UN and human rights groups have accused the government of gross human rights violations.

Abrehe’s death highlights the country’s poor human rights record and the risks faced by those who dare to criticize the government.

Born in Eritrea in 1945, Abrehe earned an MA degree in economics from a US university before joining the struggle for independence from Ethiopia. He is the father of four children.

His family, including his wife and son, have also faced persecution. His wife was imprisoned for a year, and his son, Efrem, fled the country and now lives in the US.

Efrem previously described his family’s ordeal to the BBC, saying, “I am living with a dim glimmer of hope that my father, who has health issues, [will be out of prison one day]. How can people be kidnapped by a government and disappear for years? Why do people show such cruelty on a fellow human like this?”

Abrehe’s death is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those who speak out against the Eritrean government.

North Korea is set to welcome back international tourists by the end of the year, according to travel agencies, but experts warn that the long-awaited opening up could be hindered by political tensions and harsh winters. The country sealed its borders and banned international visitors in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but now plans to reopen to tourists, starting with the city of Samjiyon, near the Chinese border.

The apparent decision to lower the drawbridge has been welcomed by tour companies, but some North Korea watchers say plans to resume tourism after almost five years of pandemic-enforced isolation are fraught with problems. North Korean state media have yet to comment on the reported opening up, although Kim Jong-un has taken a personal interest in developing the tourism infrastructure and spoken of his desire to welcome visitors from “friendly” nations, China and Russia.

The official motivation has changed little since the North banned foreign tourists in 2020 – namely, to showcase a modern, content country centered on unwavering public devotion to three generations of the Kim dynasty. The first visitors are expected to be confined to Samjiyon, described by North Korea as a “socialist utopia” and “a model of highly civilized mountain city”. The destination, which reportedly boasts new apartments, hotels, and a ski resort, is a gateway to Mount Paektu, the highest peak on the peninsula and considered the mythical birthplace of a united Korean people – a place of pilgrimage that supports the cult of personality surrounding the family that has ruled with an iron fist since the country’s foundation in 1948.

Koryo Tours, which was forced to put visits on hold at the start of the pandemic, welcomed the reported resumption of tourism, adding that the move would probably extend to the rest of the country. “Having waited for over four years to make this announcement, Koryo Tours is very excited for the opening of North Korean tourism once again,” the Beijing-based firm said on its website, adding that its local partner would confirm itineraries and dates in coming weeks.

A second travel agency, Shenyang-based KTG Tours, also announced that tourists would be able to visit Samjiyon from this winter. But some experts said the plans could fall foul of the harsh weather that grips the remote Samjiyon area in winter, along with poor local infrastructure and, for Westerners, a reluctance to travel to a country that has become more aggressive in recent years.

“I can’t see how Samjiyon, being one of the more isolated tourist destinations within the DPRK, would be the first for the Koreans to try and open for the broader tourism market,” Rowan Beard, the manager of Young Pioneer Tours, told the NK News website, using the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Travel industry officials said they expected the first wave of tourism to be dominated by Chinese nationals and, in light of Kim’s recent meetings with Vladimir Putin, people from Russia. “I suspect that the powers that be in Pyongyang believe it’s time to open the borders like all other ‘normal’ nations have since the pandemic ended,” said Prof Dean J Ouellette, an expert in North Korean tourism at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University. “That means opening up to international tourists, whether or not many decide to go, or are allowed by their governments to visit, or are even allowed entry by North Korean authorities because of their nationality.”

China is by far the most important market, with Chinese nationals making up about 90% of tourists to North Korea before Covid-19. Experts say a record 300,000 foreign tourists visited North Korea in 2019, earning the country between $90m and $150m. While the North is far from dependent on tourism for foreign currency, the injection of cash could boost its coffers.

“If there is a return to the heyday of Chinese tourist arrivals … North Korea could possibly earn an $100m to $175m,” Ouellette said. “For a heavily sanctioned and self-isolating economy like North Korea, that is not an insignificant amount.” But Chinese leaders have voiced reservations about North Korea’s supply of weapons to Russian forces in Ukraine and are cautiously following Kim’s closer relationship with Putin.

“I don’t think we will see a return to those high tourist numbers until Pyongyang repairs relations with Beijing,” Ouellette said. Tourism to the North was strictly limited before the pandemic, with tour companies saying about 5,000 western tourists visited each year. Americans made up about 20% percent of the market before the US banned its citizens from going there as tourists after the 2017 death of the university student Otto Warmbier.

Cockerell said much had yet to be decided about itineraries, but that tourists would continue to be closely watched. “The main system remains unchanged, with guided tours only and no