In a 2009 report on human rights in Eritrea commissioned by the Oslo Center, Tronvoll stated that while drafts of Eritrean law codes prepared in 1997 were consistent with international principles of law, the new law codes had no real effect. He said that civil society organisations and independent newspapers briefly existed in Eritrea in 2001 following the 1998–2000 Eritrean–Ethiopian War, but were crushed from September to December 2001. He estimated the number of political prisoners in the range 10,000–30,000 and said that there was widespread and systematic torture and extrajudicial killings, with "anyone" for "any or no reason", including children eight years old, people over 80 years old and ill people, being liable to be arrested. Tronvoll summarised the situation stated that in 2009, Eritrea had "developed into one of the world's most totalitarian and human rights-abusing regimes".