Djibouti: Political prisoners in hunger strike

DJI 050698

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention of the following situation in the Republic of Djibouti.

Brief description of the situation:

According to information received from reliable sources, since May
27th, 1998, forty detainees, believed to be detained for political
reaseons, in the Gaboda prison in Djibouti, have been on a hunger
strike with a view to improving the detention conditions and
healthcare for the injured and the sick. Two hundred and forty-two
other detainees have also joined in the hunger strike. It is believed
that their lives are in great danger. One of them, Mr. Mohamed Adan
Ibrahim, died May 31, 1998.

According to this information, detainees in the Gaboda prison are
faced with very difficult living conditions. There are at times up to
ten individuals in a area of three meters square, in suffocating heat,
with no regular water supply and frequent electricity cuts.
Furthermore, it is alleged that injured and sick detainees have been
denied medical care to the extent that the police has actively removed
them from the hospital and brought them back to the prison. Such was
the case with detainees, Mr.Aden Hassan Houmed and Mr. Daoud Ahmed
Ali, hospitalised several times, who were physically removed from the
hospital by the police, without warning their doctor, the day before
they were going in for surgery. In spite of the doctor's repeated
requests to transfer them back to the hospital, they are still being
detained in the Gaboda prison.

Actions requested:
Please write to the Djibouti authorities urging them to:

i.	-guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all
detainees at the Gaboda prison and  take immediate measures to improve
the conditions of detention, including the provision of adequate food
and water as well as medical care;

ii.	-order the release of those detainees against whom no charges have
been brought, or if such charges exist, bring them before a competent
and impartial tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights;

iii.  -ensure the respect for human rights and fundamental liberties
at all times in accordance with international instruments.

Addresses:

Son Excellence Monsieur Hassan Gouled Aptidon, Président de la
République, La Présidence, BP 6, Djibouti, République de Djibouti,
Faxes: + 253 355049 / 350174.

Monsieur Hassan Farah Miguil, Ministre de la Justice, Ministère de la
Justice, BP 12, Djibouti, République de Djibouti, Faxes: + 253 354012.

Monsieur Ali Dini, Batonnier de l'Ordre des Avocats de Djibouti,
Barreau de Djibouti, BP 2461, Djibouti, République de Djibouti.

The Embassy of the Republic of Djibouti in your countries.

Geneva, June 5, 1998

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.