Articles for Djibouti

Geneva (May 15, 2018) – With the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Djibouti taking place last week before the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, concerns remain about the Djiboutian authorities’ willingness to make significant improvements to the human rights situation in the country.

Ahead of the 2018 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Djibouti by the Human Rights Council (HRC), Alkarama submitted a report in October 2017 highlighting our main concerns with regards to the current human rights situation in the country.

Mohamed Ahmed Edou known as Mohamed Djabha, the oldest political detainee in Djibouti was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment on 18 June 2017. This member Eritrean-born Djiboutian long-time political opponent and member of the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy party was arrested on 1 May 2010 by the Djiboutian army. He was later accused of creating a “paramilitary organisation” and of “collaborating with a foreign power”.

Farah Abadid Hildid, Naguib Ali Gouradi, Mohamoud Mohamed Daher and Ibrahim Abdi Indayareh, the four members of the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MDRD), who were sentenced to two months of imprisonment on 28 March 2017 and detained at the Gabode prison, were finally released on 10 May 2017 pending final decision of the Djibouti Court of Appeal.

On 24 October 2016, Djiboutian authorities released Abdi Aden Cheik Ali, a citizen who had been arbitrarily arrested on 20 July 2016 in Ali-Sabieh following the dissemination of a video denouncing the lack of water in the region, after more than three months in arbitrary detention. Upon release, he claimed having been detained in very difficult conditions.

On 10 August 2016, Alkarama referred the case of Abdi Aden Cheik Ali to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (SR FRDX), in order to call for his release after he was sentenced by the Djiboutian authorities to three months in detention following the dissemination of a video denouncing the lack of water in the region of Ali-Sabieh.

On 19 January 2016, the Court of flagrante offenses of Djibouti City condemned Kadar Abdi Ibrahim, publication co-director of the Aurore newspaper, to a two-month suspended prison sentence, while suspending the publication of this monthly newspaper also for two months.

On 15 January 2016, Alkarama seized again the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (SR FRDX) and on Torture (SRT) regarding the case of Mohamed Ibrahim Waïss, a Djiboutian journalist deta

On 11 January 2016, the police arrested Mohamed Ibrahim Waïss, a 41-year-old independent journalist working for the Voice of Djibouti. Regularly harassed by the authorities due to his position statements, he has since then been detained without being allowed to see his family or lawyer, while the charges against him remain undetermined.

On 21 December 2015, at dawn, the police and the Djiboutian army violently dispersed a religious ceremony in Balbala, near Djibouti City. Although it is still difficult to estimate the number of casualties and injuries, it appears that the State forces used lethal force in a disproportionate manner.