Tripoli, 20 March 2013:
The Libyan Human Rights Observatory had called on the judicial authorities on Monday to release Amara Hassan Al-Khatabi, the . . .[restrict]editor of the Ummah (Nation) newspaper, accused of defamation of members of the judiciary.
He published a list of 84 judges in the newspaper claiming saying they were involved in corruption, demanding that the allegations be investigated.
The Observatory said that Khatabi, 67, who was arrested on 19 December and has been on hunger strike in Hudba Prison since 28 February, was pursuing his professional job as an editor when he published that reports about alleged corruption in the Libyan judiciary.
The Observarory claimed that the authorities had ignored his rights to free expression and did not investigate any of the corruption cases published in his newspaper, to see if they were valid or not.
Warning of the seriousness of this behaviour, it called on the General National Congress to review existing laws and modify them so as to ensure the protection of citizens and the preservation of their rights.
Amnesty International has also called for Khatabi to be released “immediately and unconditionally”. It says there are risks that his health will deteriorate rapidly as he suffers from a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes and hypertension.
“We are extremely worried about Amara Abdalla al-Khatabi’s health. Detaining a journalist because he runs a piece on corruption is reminiscent of Qaddafi-era practices. Amara Abdalla al-Khatabi should be released immediately and without any conditions,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.
“Restrictions on freedom of expression and widespread corruption were some of the grievances that sparked the 2011 popular uprising and led to the fall of Qaddafi’s government. It is outrageous that the authorities in Libya continue to rely on the same old tactics to prevent journalists from speaking up about issues such as corruption.”
Amara Abdalla al-Khatabi, who was arrested a month after the article was published ,was reportedly kept incommunicado and his family and lawyers denied permission to visit him in prison until recently. Amnesty reports that his lawyer was not allowed to see his files until just before a court hearing on 11 March.
It says that at the hearing, Khatabi’s health was so poor that he had to be helped into the room. His lawyer has claimed that he lost consciousness during the proceedings and requests to transfer him to hospital were denied.
The trial was postponed until 18 March on an application from Khatabi’s lawyer, after he was granted permission by the judge to access his client’s files and visit him in prison.
This week the trial was postponed again.
Two weeks ago the Minister of Justice, Salah Marghani, said that Khatabi should be released on bail and that it was wrong to imprison journalists.
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