H.E Muammar al-Qadhdhafi
Head of State
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
H.E Mr Abd al-Rahman Mohamed SHALGAM
Excellency, allow me first of all to wish you and the people
of Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya a progress
and development.
Excellency, allow me again to thank for the positive role
that the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
played in the transformation of the Organization of African
Unity to African Union. I hope that the African Union will
accomplish the expectation of the people of Africa. I hope
that the African Union will be the catalyst for positive
injection for renewal of Africa in different aspects such
as democracy and good political governance and in eradication
of poverty and economical development.
Excellency, according to the Amnesty International's information,
of the 430 detainees, 130 detainees, including several women
and children, are detained at a detention centre in al-Marj,
1,000 km from the Libyan capital Tripoli, while the remaining
300 are detained in Misratah, about 200km from Tripoli.
Most of the detainees are conscripts who fled Eritrea to
avoid military service. The right to conscientious objection
is not recognized in Eritrea and if returned they will
be at high risk of being arrested and tortured. Military
service
in Eritrea, which, in practice, lasts for an indefinite
period, is compulsory for women and men aged 18 to 40,
although the
age limit for women was reportedly reduced to 27. There
are no military courts and military offenders are arbitrarily
punished with torture ˆ being beaten and tied for hours
or days in painful positions ˆ and indefinite incommunicado
detention in harsh conditions.
Groups of refugees who were forcibly returned to Eritrea
from Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in
2004 and from Malta in 2002 were held incommunicado upon
their
arrival. Many were tortured and some died while in custody.
Amnesty International documented their treatment in its
report Eritrea: 'You have no right to ask' ˆ Government
resists scrutiny on human rights (AFR 64/003/2004, May
2004). In
August 2006, 300 Eritreans were detained in Great Socialist
People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and threatened with deportation.
It however appears that they were not deported although
the whereabouts of some of them remains unknown (see UA
225/06,
MDE 19/004/2006, 24 August 2006).
Excellency, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the African Union Convention on the
Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, have the
obligation to not return anyone to a country where they would
be at risk of serious human rights violations, including
torture. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) has recommended that even rejected asylum-seekers
should not be forcibly returned to Eritrea. It is not clear
that these detainees have been allowed access to UNHCR officials
in Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or any
opportunity to formally apply for asylum.
Excellency, I hereby appeals to you and to the people of
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya not to forcibly
return any Eritrean nationals to Eritrea, where they would
be at risk of torture, as well as indefinite detention without
charge or trial.
Excellency, I appeals for all Eritreans detained in Libya
to be treated humanely and given immediate access to the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in
Tripoli to enable them to apply for protection if they wish
to do so.
Sincerely,
Mussie Ephrem
Sweden
_________________________________
Mussie Ephrem (v)
Politisk sekreterare/ Political adviser
Tel/ Phon: 019-211130 eller 019-101214
Fax: 019-211320
Mobile: 070-5193945
E-mail: mussie.ephrem@orebro.se
http://mussies.blogspot.com
www.vansterpartiet.se/orebro
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NB: "This Action Alert reaches to 1687 different members
of Journalists, Lawyers, Government officials and Dedicated
Eritreans & friends of Eritrea world-wide."
The Eritrean Community for Human Rights and Refugee Protection
P.O.Box 41174 Arlington, VA 22204 USA
http://eritreancommunity.org/mailman/listinfo/actionalert_eritreancommunity.org
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