Djibouti bulletin

Amnesty International Urgent Actiln Bulletin, AI Index: AFR 23/03/97, 28 November 1997

Further information on UA 310/97 (AFR 23/01/97, 30 September 1997 and update AFR 23/02/97, 21 October 1997) - Fear of torture or ill-treatment

Mohamed Kadamy Youssouf,

representative of the opposition Front pour la Restauration de L’unite et de la Democratie, FRUD, Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy

Aicha Dabale Ahmed (f),

relief agency worker and wife of above

Ali Mohamed Maki Houmed,

FRUD military commander

Mohamed Daoud Chehem,

former political prisoner

Kamil Mohamed Ahmed (Kabir),

FRUD political official

The five people named above are still detained and under judicial investigation (instruction).

Aicha Dabale Ahmed was admitted to hospital in early November. A magistrate had ruled that she should be provisionally released but the prosecutor’s appeal against this was upheld by the Court of Appeal. She remains in custody in Peltier hospital, and after initial problems from the police is now receiving adequate medical care. Her pregnancy is continuing. Before her deportation from Ethiopia she had been working with Mission Enfance in Addis Ababa on an education project in Ethiopia’s Afar Region.

Some nine other Afar opponents of the Djibouti government are reported to have been detained in Ethiopia in November 1997, some of them tortured, and then handed over to Djibouti and detained—in addition to the five named above. They are also under judicial investigation.

Thank you for your work on this Urgent Action appeal. It was successful in securing medical treatment in hospital for Aicha Dabale Ahmed. Although neither the Ethiopia nor the Djibouti government has replied to Amnesty International’s concerns, we believe that this action has been effective in protecting the human and legal rights of the detainees at this stage.

As the immediate critical situation is over, no further action on these cases is requested from Urgent Action participants. There will be follow-up and monitoring of these cases by Amnesty International in other ways.