Trial fears for Libyan dissident
Fathi al-Jahmi was first detained in October 2002
A prominent political prisoner in Libya is facing a possible death
sentence for slandering leader Muammar Gaddafi, US-based Human Rights
Watch says.
Fathi al-Jahmi, 64, has been held by state security for more than two
years after a series of outspoken comments about Col Gaddafi and the
regime.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for his immediate release.
Libya's relationship with the US has improved dramatically since it
renounced its WMD ambitions in 2003.
"The Libyan government is taking great pains to introduce a democratic
face to the world," HRW's Middle East director, Sarah Leah Whitson,
said.
"But it appears willing to execute people for criticising its leader or
talking with a foreign official, which shows how far it has to go."
'Mentally deranged'
Mr Jahmi was first arrested in October 2002 after he criticised the
government and Col Gaddafi, and called for free elections, a free press
and the release of political prisoners, HRW said.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, but was released in March
2004 after a US senator appealed on his behalf in a meeting with Col
Gaddafi.
Libya should take another step and let peaceful critics speak their
minds
Sarah Leah Whitson
HRW's Middle East director
However, he was re-arrested in the same month after giving a television
interview in which he repeated his calls for Libya's democratisation.
According to the Libyan government, Mr Jahmi's trial began in late
2005, but the authorities have not made the charges known, HRW
reported.
Mr Jahmi told HRW officials who visited him in detention in May 2005
that he had been accused of trying to overthrow the government,
insulting Col Gaddafi and contacting foreign authorities, after he
talked to a US diplomat.
All those charges carry the death penalty, HRW said.
The New York-based group said Libya's internal security agency head,
Tommy Khaled, told them Mr Jahmi was being held in a special detention
centre for his own safety because he is "mentally deranged".
"Libya has renounced terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in its
efforts to rejoin the international community," Ms Whitson said.
"Now it should take another step and let peaceful critics speak their
minds".
Although relations between Tripoli and Washington have warmed in recent
years, Libya still remains on the US list of states that sponsor
terrorism.
AND AMERICA CALLS LIBYA AN ALLY ON THE SIDE OF FREEDOM VS TERRORISM....
.
|
