HRW urges Libya to release political prisoner
01/02/2008
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Libyan authorities to release Fathi al-Jahmi, a 66-year-old dissident who has been in prison for nearly four years without trial. In a Wednesday (January 30th) statement, the organisation said Al-Jahmi is "seriously ill and in urgent need of independent medical care". Joe Stork, HRW director for the Middle East, said the detention violates both Libyan and international law.
Al-Jahmi, a former provincial governor, was first arrested in 2002 over criticism of Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi. Following a meeting between Kadhafi and US Senator Joseph Biden, al-Jahmi was released in March 2004 and given a one-year suspended sentence. Several days after his release, al-Jahmi was re-arrested on the same charges, and has been held in prison since. The Libyan government say they are holding him for his own protection, saying he is "mentally disturbed".
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