their faith within their home. They were still barred from practicing in any public space. Many families fled the country to seek asylum abroad due to mass persecution and imprisonment. According to Amnesty International, there are currently 250 families that have left Eritrea to seek asylum abroad. Domestic and international human rights organizations are not allowed to function in Eritrea. The registered, census-based religions are the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (a miaphysite Oriental Orthodox denomination), the Roman Catholic Church, Eritrean Lutheran Church, and Sunni Islam. All other religions are persecuted, including other denominations of Islam, such as Shi'ism, and other denominations of Christianity, such as any of the myriad Protestant denominations (other than the Eritrean Lutheran Church) and Jehovah's Witnesses. All denominations of Christianity were given freedom of worship until 2002 when the government outlawed worship and assembly outside the 'registered' denominations. Evangelical churches in Eritrea have been some of the most persecuted religious groups. For religious groups to participate and freely practice their faith they must apply for registration with the Department of Religious Affairs. The government has seized many churches and religious buildings. In 2003, there was a record number of arrests made on members of Evangelical churches. Law enforcements officials go to different religious gatherings or weddings to carry out mass arrests, "Police singled out religious weddings in homes as occasions to round up believers." It is normal for the government to make followers recant their faith: "The detainees were usually pressured under torture or ill-treatment, with the threat of indefinite detention, to sign a document agreeing to certain conditions of release, such as not to attend religious meetings. Some were reportedly forced to recant their faith and agree to rejoin the Orthodox Church." Many of these religious prisoners were often subjected to secret trials and secret prison sentences. There has been no known reason for the "crackdown" on Evangelical churches, according to Amnesty International, "ongoing crackdown on minority religious groups was never given by the government but it appeared to be partly linked to government action against young people trying to avoid military conscription". Religious prisoners are often tortured in Eritrea. Freedom of worship is one of the top reasons thousands of Eritreans flee the country. There are thousands of Eritreans in Ethiopia, Sudan, Israel, Europe and the West seeking asylum. Freedom of speech and the press are severely constrained while freedom of assembly, association, movement,