Case LBY 031207
Arbitrary detention/ Forced
disappearance/ Unfair trial/ Allegation of torture and
ill-treatment/ Risk for safety
The International
Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following
situation in Libya.
Brief description of the
situation
The International
Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by a reliable
source and by Antenna International, member organisation
of the OMCT SOS-Torture network, about the trial of 12 men
detained in connection with a planned demonstration
against the authorities in February 2007. The next hearing
is reportedly to be held on 4 December 2007 before the
State Security Court in Tripoli, established in September
2007. Reports indicate that they were allegedly subjected
to torture and ill-treatment. Moreover, two individuals,
who were arrested along with the 12 men, are reportedly
disappeared.
According to the
information received, Mr. Jamal Alhaji (writer), Dr. Idis
Bufayed, Mr. Fareed Azway (writer), Mr. Almahdi Hmeed
(lawyer), Mr. Assadiq Hmeed, Mr. Faraj Hmeed, Mr. Adel
Hmeed, Mr. Ali Hmeed, Mr. Ala Adrisi, Mr. Assadiq Gashoot,
Mr. Bashir Alharis, Mr. Ahmad Alabeedi, Mr. Abdel rahman
Al-Gteewi and Mr. Juma Bufayed, were arrested between 16
and 17 February 2007 and detained in view of their planned
peaceful demonstration to take place in Tripoli to
infomemorate the first anniversary of the killing of at
least 12 people and the injuring of score of more during a
demonstration in Benghazi.
Mr. Ahmad
Alabeedi, Mr. Adel Hmeed, Mr. Ali Hmeed, Mr. Faraj Hmeed,
Mr. Almahdi Hmeed, Mr. Assadiq Hmeed and Mr. Fareed Azway
were reportedly presented on 20 April 2007 before a court
in the district of Tajoura in Tripoli and then detained at
the Aljadidah prison in Tripoli. Dr. Idis Bufayed, Mr.
Assadiq Gashoot, Mr. Ala Adrisi, Mr. Jamal Alhaji, and Mr.
Bashir Alharis were also reportedly presented before the
same court but were then transferred to Ain-Zara prison in
Tripoli, after allegedly being detained for at least two
months in a detention centre operated by the Internal
Security Agency in Sikka Street, aka 7th November Street,
in Tripoli.
The 12 men were
reportedly charged with offences including possession of
weapons, conspiracy against the "Public Authority",
conspiring and contact with foreign enemies, encouraging
violence against the State. If they are found guilty, they
might reportedly face death penalty.
According to the
same information, none of the 12 men were able to meet
their lawyers outside the court room. A hearing reportedly
took place on 20 November 2007 but was postponed to 4
December 2007 because of the absence of two lawyers
appointed by the judge. Moreover, only those detained at
Aljadidah prison were reportedly present at the hearing.
According to the
information, all prisoners have allegedly infoplained to
have suffered acts of torture in the first five months of
their arrest. Mr. Faraj Hmeed and Mr. Almahdi Hmeed were
allegedly punched and beaten with wooden implements,
subjected to falaqa (beating on the soles of the feet) and
placed in a coffin as a form of intimidation during at
least one interrogation session. They had reportedly to
receive medical treatment as a result. Moreover, those
detained at Ain-Zara prison were allegedly kept in the
basement without any light for months. While the men
detained at the Aljadidha prison were allowed a few family
visits (although on an irregular basis), the detainees at
the Ain-Zara prison were allegedly not allowed any.
Furthermore, reports indicate that Mr. Ahmad Alabeedi, Mr.
Jamal Alhaji and Mr. Fareed Azway are in very poor health
condition. Mr. Fareed Azway reportedly suffers from
chronic eye problem and is mentally stressed.
Regarding Mr.
Abdel rahman Al-Gteewi’s and Mr. Juma Bufayed, their
whereabouts remain unknown since their arrest in February
2007.
The International
Secretariat of OMCT is very much concerned about the
forced disappearance of Mr. Abdel rahman Al-Gteewi and Mr.
Juman Bufayed, being at particular risk of torture and
ill-treatment. Moreover, OMCT expresses it concern with
the detention and trial of the 12 above-mentioned
individuals, who according to the information received
seemed to be effectively punished for their peaceful
political opposition to or criticism of the government.
OMCT calls for their immediate and unconditional release
in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges
exist, bring them before an impartial, independent,
infopetent and fair tribunal and guarantee their procedural
rights at all times
OMCT recalls that Libya is a State party to the UN
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which both
prohibit cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In line
with their obligations under these treaties, it is
incumbent on the Libyan authorities to consider seriously
any allegations of torture and ill-treatment made by the
victim, and to undertake a thorough investigation in this
regard. OMCT also recalls to Libya that according to
article 9 1) of the ICCPR “no one shall be subjected to
arbitrary arrest or detention”.
Actions requested
Please write to the
authorities in Libya urging them to:
i. Immediately
locate the whereabouts of Mr. Abdel rahman Al-Gteewi and
Mr. Juma Bufayed;
ii. Guarantee, in
all circumstances, the physical and psychological
integrity of all the above-mentioned individuals;
iii. Order their
immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges,
or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial,
independent, infopetent and fair tribunal and guarantee
their procedural rights at all times;
iv. Guarantee
immediate and unconditional access to their lawyers,
families and any medical treatment they may require;
v. Order a
thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in
particular into the allegations of torture, in order to
identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and
apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as
provided by law;
vi. Guarantee the
respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms
throughout the country in accordance with national laws
and international human rights standards.
Addresses:
• Colonel
Mu'ammar al-Kaddafi, Leader of the Revolution, Office of
the Leader of the Revolution, Tripoli, Great Socialist
People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Fax : + 218 21 333 01 85
• Secretary of
Justice, Minister Mr Mustafa Abdeljalil, Email:
secretary@aladel.gov.ly; fax nr ++ 218214805427
• Permanent Mission of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya to the United Nations Office at Geneva and
International Organizations in Switzerland, Rue de
Richemond 25, 1202 Geneva, Tel: +41 22 959 89 00, Fax: +41
22 959 89 10, Email:
mission.libye@bluewin.ch
• The Embassy of
the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in Brussels
, 28 av. Victoria, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 649
37 37, Fax: +32 2 640 90 76, Email: Libyan bureau
be@yahoo.com
Please also write
to the Diplomatic Representatives of Libya in your
country.
Geneva, 3 December 2007
Kindly inform us
of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal
in your reply.
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