Take action Now
Several Ethiopian women and men are suffering in Libya detention centre. Addis Dimts radio host, Abebe Belew managed to interview these prisoners, who had been tortured and starved. These Ethiopian prisoners are held in life-threatening facilities lacking adequate food, drinking water, sewage facilities and medical care, one of women prisoner told to Addis Dimts, “we don’t even have menstrual pad… we are using piece of unclean cloths”. Among prisoners’ most common complaints is that Libya police are torturing men prisoners in regular basis.
This is A Must Listen (Click here – starts from 50 minutes) and take urgent action.
Action Required
1) Write to Mr Antonio Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees High Commissioner to take urgent action regarding the state of the Ethiopian refugees in Libya.
2) Write to HE Mr Ali Aujali, Libya’s ambassador to the United States
3) Write to HE Mr Omar R Jelban, The People’s Bureau of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
4) Write to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in your country requesting them to appeal for the welfare of the refugees in Libya.
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/contact?hq=y
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Sample Letter to UNHCR Mr Antonio Guterres
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Date]
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
High Commissioner Mr Antonio Guterres
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Suisse.
Dear Mr Antonio Guterres,
Re: Ethiopian Refugees in Libya Facing Torture / Forcible Return to Their Homeland
I am very concerned about the welfare of the Ethiopian refugees detained in Libya, who are currently facing impending deportation to Ethiopia where they may be arrested and tortured upon arrival.
According to reports by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, several hundred Ethiopians are currently detained in different detention centers. There are detainees from other sub-Saharan African countries as well. The detainees are held in deplorable conditions; they are not provided with proper food, drink or medical facilities. Further, many detainees have reportedly been physically and sexually abused by the prison security guards. Some of women prisoners are with their kids in detention center.
The Libyan authorities have already deported many of these refugees to their countries of origin where they may have faced ill-treatment. By doing so, Libya is in breach of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Organization of African Unity Convention to which it is a state party.
I request you to investigate this case and urge the Libyan authorities to treat the refugees in accordance with international human rights standards.
I look forward to hearing from you soon on this urgent matter,
Yours sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Name]
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The Libyan Liaison Office is located at
20037 (tel. 202-944-9601, fax 202-944-9060)
Sample Letter to HE Mr Ali Aujali, Libya’s ambassador to the United States
Tel. +202-944-9601
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Date]
The People’s Bureau of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
HE Mr Ali Aujali,
2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705,
Washington DC
20037
Dear Mr Ali Aujali, Libya’s ambassador to the United States,
Assalam Alykum,
Re: Ethiopian Refugees in Libya Facing Torture / Forcible Return to Their Homeland
I am very concerned about the welfare of the Ethiopian refugees detained in Misratah, Libya, who are currently facing impending deportation to Ethiopia where they may be arrested and tortured upon arrival.
According to reports by the Wasington DC radio program, several hundred Ethiopians are currently detained in Misratah. There are detainees from other sub-Saharan African countries as well. The detainees are held in deplorable conditions; they are not provided with proper food, drink or medical facilities. Further, many detainees have reportedly been physically and sexually abused by the prison security guards. Some of them are imprisoned with their kids.
The Libyan authorities have already deported many of these refugees to their countries of origin where they may have faced ill-treatment. By doing so, Libya is in breach of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Organization of African Unity Convention to which it is a state party.
I urge your government to treat the refugees in accordance with international human rights standards and assist them in their applications for asylum. Please ensure that the refugees are given the same rights as other Libyans.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Name]
=========================
Sample Letter to HE Mr Omar R Jelban
Tel. +44 207 5896120
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Date]
The People’s Bureau of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
HE Mr Omar R Jelban
15 Knightsbridge
London
SW1X 7LY
Dear Mr Omar R Jelban,
Assalam Alykum,
Re: Ethiopian Refugees in Libya Facing Torture / Forcible Return to Their Homeland
I am very concerned about the welfare of the Ethiopian refugees detained in Misratah, Libya, who are currently facing impending deportation to Ethiopia where they may be arrested and tortured upon arrival.
According to reports by the Wasington DC radio program, several hundred Ethiopians are currently detained in Misratah. There are detainees from other sub-Saharan African countries as well. The detainees are held in deplorable conditions; they are not provided with proper food, drink or medical facilities. Further, many detainees have reportedly been physically and sexually abused by the prison security guards. Some of them are imprisoned with their kids.
The Libyan authorities have already deported many of these refugees to their countries of origin where they may have faced ill-treatment. By doing so, Libya is in breach of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Organization of African Unity Convention to which it is a state party.
I urge your government to treat the refugees in accordance with international human rights standards and assist them in their applications for asylum. Please ensure that the refugees are given the same rights as other Libyans.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Name]
=================================
Dear Mr ………..,
Re: Ethiopian Refugees in Libya Facing Torture / Forcible Return to Their Homeland
I am very concerned about the welfare of the Ethiopian refugees detained in Misratah, Libya, who are currently facing impending deportation to Ethiopia where they may be arrested and tortured upon arrival.
According to reports by the Washington DC based radio station, several hundred Ethiopians are currently detained in Libya detention centers. There are detainees from other sub-Saharan African countries as well. The detainees are held in deplorable conditions; they are not provided with proper food, drink or medical facilities. Further, many detainees have reportedly been physically and sexually abused by the prison security guards. Some of them are also born a chilf in prison.
The Libyan authorities have already deported many of these refugees to their countries of origin where they may have faced ill-treatment. By doing so, Libya is in breach of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Organization of African Unity Convention to which it is a state party.
I request you to urge the Libyan authorities to treat the refugees in accordance with international human rights standards and assist them in their applications for asylum. They should ensure that the refugees are given the same rights as other Libyans.
I look forward to hearing from you soon on this urgent matter,
Yours sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Name]
——————————————————–
For more information and effective result, please contact the office on the numbers or email below.
Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom
Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ihrc.org
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Diplomatic Representation in US:
The Libyan Liaison Office is located at 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington DC 20037 (tel. 202-944-9601, fax 202-944-9060)
Mission of Libya to The United Nations
309 East 48th Street
New York
+1 212 752 5775
+1 212 593 4787
Libyan Peoples Bureau in The United Kingdom
London
+44 207 5896120
Libyan Peoples Bureau in Canada
Ottawa
+1 613 230 0919 – +1 613 230 0683
Peoples Bureau of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
81 Metcalfe Street Suite 1000
Ottawa, ONTARIO, K1P 6K7
Libyan Peoples Bureau in France
Paris
+33 1 47047160
5 thoughts on “Ethiopians suffering in Libya prisons”
I will do my best. This is really very important and urgent matter. Every one of us should do what we can. Thank you very much Addis Dimitse and Elias. You both proved your concern to Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Thank you.
I am sure days will not be far for all Arab countries to pay back for their in humanity act.
we need to do this
Please, let us all participate in this urgent issue. We can make diffrences. Let us be strong voices for the voiceless.
Thank You ER, and Addis Dimts
What do Ethiopian immigrants expect from the government of Libya?
Their sufferings are our humiliations, and their detentions at the Libyan jail are the denigrations of our hallowed Ethiopian names and the name of our country, Ethiopia; they are our Ethiopian brothers and sisters jailed for many days and nights and living under horrible conditions without any justifiable reasons. Of course, our big brother, Mohammad Gaddafi of Libya, is accountable for the pains and humiliations of these innocent Ethiopian brothers and sisters who have come to his country for economic reasons, thinking they will be treated humanly by the Libyan government, their brother’s government.
Muhammad Gaddafi of Libya is a leader of many contradictions in regard to foreigners if indeed Ethiopians are considered foreigners in Libya. We see him during several OAU meetings advocating for the unity of Africa, for a United States of Africa under one government and under one army. In this case Gaddafi looks like a unifier, not like a divider, at least in theory. Practically though we see him persecuting, torturing, and jailing men and women of Ethiopia, the head-quarter of the OAU. In fact, if Gaddafi believes that Africa should be united and governed by one head of states, why does he hate some people from Africa, and especially those who come from Ethiopia in search of an employment, shelter and a piece of land so that they could raise their family and help their relatives at home?
On November 23, 2006, Mr. Gaddafi emphatically declared in his word as posted in News Reports, Prophet by Don Jaide; ‘Political borders, official papers and identities set for every group of people are new, artificial things not recognized by nature. Land is the property of everyone, and God commands all human beings to migrate on to seek a living, which is their right.’ Here is the contradiction: If Gaddafi believes that passports and other documents are artificial – man-made things, and that land is the property of everyone on this earth and that people have the right to get out and move to another country and earn a living without any question asked, why is he then holding as criminals the Ethiopian men and women who have come to his country, perhaps, with or without proper documentation or a passport to earn a living? Dear Mr. Gaddafi, hire them, don’t jail them; feed them, don’t starve them to death; visit them, talk to them and don’t isolate them; give them all they need: food, water, medical care, access to a clean restroom, and hundreds of menstrual pads to the women who need them. These are your African brothers and sisters whom you passionately advocate to be governed one day under a United States of Africa.
Yes, Mr. Gaddafi is right that the land or earth belongs to God, belongs to everybody as the Psalmist says: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (24:1). Yet, knowing this divine fact, Mr. Gaddafi has refused to give a piece of land, a piece of property, a descent shelter, and a proper hygiene to these Ethiopian men and women whom he has jailed for a numbers of days and assigned them to his brutal prisoners’ guards who club the prisoners days in and days out.
Mr. Gaddafi, who believes in a united States of Africa, who believes that “land is the property of everyone”, who believes his country is rich in oil, has totally failed to accommodate a very handful Ethiopian immigrants, has failed to give them adequate food and water, has failed to listen to their cases, and has miserably failed to grant their natural rights to seek a living in a foreign country like Libya.
As a father of eight children, and as one of his oldest sons is a charity director and a negotiator of freedom for hostages, it seems that Gaddafi has no good heart like one of his sons toward the Ethiopian prisoners. Other wise, Gaddafi could have given these innocent Ethiopian men and women their freedoms or at least a good treatment while they remain in that deplorable prison conditions, getting orders from that ruthless Libyan prisoners’ guards.
Gaddafi’s ambition, (Kwame Nkrumah’s ambition) for a United States of Africa may seem a noble idea, but, from the inside, it has a lot of holes. Indeed, one of these holes is Gaddafi’s mistreatment of our Ethiopian brothers and sisters in the Libyan jail; without correcting the injustices which are going on in the continent of Africa, there will never be a United States of Africa. It remains for the time being as Gaddafi’s dream; no one else’s.