djibouti: concern over continued detention

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as received**

To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: World Association of Newspapers (WAN), [email protected]

His Excellency Mohamed Dileita Dileita
Prime Minister of Djibouti
C/o Permanent Representative to UN
Email: [email protected]

8 May 2003

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World
Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to express
our serious concern at the detention of journalist Daher Ahmed Farah and the
seizure of his newspaper.

According to reports, Mr Farah, editor of the newspaper Le Renouveau and leader
of the opposition Mouvement pour le renouveau démocratique, was arrested on 20
April. Mr Farah was placed in solitary confinement at Gabode prison after his
arrest and only his mother has been allowed to visit him. While he has not been
officially charged with any crime, it is thought that a complaint may have been
brought against Le Renouveau by the deputy head of the army, General Zakaria
Cheik Ibrahim, after it published an article that was critical of him. In its 17
April edition, the newspaper accused the army of lacking 'neutrality'.

After his arrest, police searched Mr Farah's home and office without search
warrants and seized equipment and Le Renouveau's archives. Most recently, police
seized copies of Le Renouveau from news-stands on 5 May.

We respectfully remind you that the jailing of Mr Farah constitutes a clear
breach of his right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous
international conventions. Furthermore, the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights considers that 'detention, as punishment for the peaceful expression of
an opinion, is one of the most reprehensible ways to enjoin silence and, as a
consequence, a grave violation of human rights'.

We respectfully call on you to ensure that Mr Farah is immediately released from
jail and that any charges that may have been brought against him are dropped. We
urge you to do everything possible to ensure that in future your country fully
respects international standards of freedom of expression.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Seok Hyun Hong
President
World Association of Newspapers

Gloria Brown Anderson
President
World Editors Forum

cc : Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General, UNESCO

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