LIBYA - Fathi el-Jahmi
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Political activist Fathi el-Jahmi has been detained since March 2004, when he was arrested after he criticized Libya's leader, Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi, and called for political reform in international media interviews. The 67-year-old former provincial governor has been held in solitary confinement, denied visits by his family and, until recently, allowed only occasional access to a doctor despite his poor health.
A recent medical examination of Fathi el-Jahmi by a doctor from Physicians for Human Rights confirmed that he suffers from heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. He is in urgent need of a cardiac catheterization, as well as a biopsy to test for cancer.
Although Libyan authorities claimed in March 2008 that Mr. el-Jahmi had been released and "was now in the care of his family," he actually remains in state custody at the Tripoli Medical Center, where he has been held for the last ten months. Security officers continue to supervise him, and his passport has not been returned to him. Amnesty International considers Fathi el-Jahmi to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful expression of his political views, and is campaigning for his release.
Please send messages of support to:
Fathi el-Jahmi
Tripoli Medical Center
University Street
(next to Al-Fateh University)
Tower 1, 3rd Floor, Room 603
Tripoli
LIBYA
For more information on human rights in Libya
