ABUSE OF POWER IN DJIBOUTI
#Djibouti #HRW #AbuseOfPower #dictatorship
Several artists and singers, including two actors, four singers, and the secretary-general of the opposition party Rally for Action, Democracy, and Ecological Development (RADDE), have been recently arrested by the Djiboutian police. They are accused of illegally wearing military and police uniforms and allegedly inciting security forces to rebellion over wage demands. The charges include participating in an unauthorized gathering, engaging in a protest that could disrupt public order, and irregular uniform wearing. The RADDE president explains that the event where the arrests were made was a satirical sketch and concert night organized as part of a campaign against high living costs and for wage increases, including for the military. Abdourahman Mohamed Guelleh (TX) criticizes the inconsistency, as public television has previously shown artists wearing uniforms in sketches without any prohibition.
#Djibouti #HRW
Djibouti,human rights abuse report on May 21st 2023.
Yasmin Ahmed Guedi, a Djiboutian mother, bravely shared a video addressing the Djiboutian dictator and demanding compensation for her father's death during the terrorist attack at the Historill bar in Djibouti. Accordingly to local djiboutian activists and and free webtv of the djiboutian diaspora, a few days after her public plea for justice on social media, Yasmin Ahmed Guedi, a poor citizen and mother of seven children, was arrested. This incident highlights the severe limitations on freedom of expression and the consequences faced by individuals who dare to voice their rights and grievances openly.
It is indeed a perplexing question how NATO stationed countries like the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain can seemingly support a dictatorship in Djibouti led by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (IOG). There have been numerous reports of human rights violations and undemocratic practices under his regime. Some of the reported violations include:
Suppression of freedom of speech: The government has been known to crack down on dissenting voices, arresting individuals who express their opinions or criticize the regime, as exemplified by Yasmin Ahmed Guedi's case.
Lack of political freedom: Opposition parties and political activists face significant obstacles, including restrictions on their activities, intimidation, and harassment.
Electoral irregularities: Elections in Djibouti have been marred by allegations of fraud, manipulation, and limited political competition, hindering the establishment of a truly democratic system.
Human rights abuses: There have been reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, and ill-treatment of detainees by security forces, as well as restrictions on the rights to assembly and association.
Limited media freedom: Independent media outlets face restrictions, and journalists have been subjected to harassment and intimidation when reporting on sensitive issues or c
CTD press release on human rights violation in Djibouti
#Djibouti #HRW
Paris, April 17, 2023, press release from CTD.
The CTD, Charter for Democratic Transition in Djibouti, condemns the crackdown on the opposition in Djibouti. Not content with having expelled two mission chargés from the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) in mid-March 2023, the Djiboutian government has just decided on April 11, 2023, to arrest the Secretary of Organization of the ARD and President of the Federation of Obock, Ahmed Ali Mohamed, followed by the arrest on April 13, 2023, of the MRD Coordinator for Europe, Moustapha Ahmed Ali, who was passing through Djibouti.
Ahmed Ali Mohamed was remanded in custody at Gabode prison, while Moustapha Ahmed Ali was intercepted upon his plane's landing and taken by the SDS, the national security documentation service. The arrest of Ahmed Ali Mohamed is said to follow his denunciation of the violence perpetrated on March 28, 2023, by the police against Eritrean refugees in the Markazī camp in Obock, but no motive is advanced concerning the arrest of Moustapha Ahmed Ali.
The CTD condemns the continued repressive madness of the Ismael Omar Guelleh regime and demands the immediate release of Ahmed Ali Mohamed, Moustapha Ahmed Ali, and all prisoners of conscience in Djiboutian prisons.
Violent Assault on Eritrean Refugees in Djibouti's Obock Camp
#Djibouti #HRW Djibouti , April 12th,2023
"Arbitrary Arrest of ARD Member Following Denunciation of Violent Assault on Eritrean Refugees in Obock Refugee Camp".
On April 12th, 2023, the political opposition group in Djibouti, the Republican Alliance for Development (ARD), which is a signatory of the Charter for a Democratic Transition in Djibouti (CTD), announced that their colleague Ahmed Ali Mohamed, who serves as the organization's secretary and president of the ARD federation in Obock, was summoned to the central office of the national police commissioner earlier that day. Subsequently, he was transferred to the criminal brigade and immediately put into custody.
The reason for his arrest is believed to be his condemnation of the violence carried out by law enforcement officers against Eritrean refugees at the Markazi camp in Obock.
Meanwhile, on April 4th, 2023, the Obock administration formally denied the incidents that took place on March 28th, 2023, at the Markazi refugee camp.
According to reporters without borders , the government led by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, who was unfairly reelected for a fifth term in 2021, deploys a draconian arsenal that includes judicial harassment, illegal searches, arrests and physical violence in order to impose a reign of terror on the media.
Violent Assault on Eritrean Refugees in Djibouti's Obock Camp
#Djibouti, march 28th,2023.
"Violent Assault on Eritrean Refugees in Obock Refugee Camp".
The Djiboutian political opposition party A R D (republican alliance for the development) , signatory of the C T D (charter for a democratic transition in Djibouti), reports that law enforcement officers violently assaulted and beat Eritrean refugees in the Obock refugee camp who protested against their relocation to a potentially hostile camp. The refugees, mainly Afar, have suffered injuries, including women . The report suggests that there is interference from public authorities in the management of refugees in a biased manner, especially when they are Afar. The report calls on the UNHCR to regain its composure and return to its code of conduct, which must be impartial with regards to the ethnic, religious, or geographical affiliation of refugees. It also asks ONARS to treat refugees equally, taking into account regional ethnic tensions. The report draws attention to the persistence of these regrettable abuses, which risk rekindling and provoking very serious tensions within the Djiboutian communities.
Djiboutian News February 05,2023.
#Djibouti #dictatorship #IOG
Protest in As Eyla (see previous news), the district of Dikhil where the population is demanding justice for the young Abdoulkader Obakar Houmed, who died in the police jails in Dhikil on the night of January 30, 2023. young Abdoulkader Obakar Houmed, was confirmed that he was indeed subjected to abuse and torture according to medical reports and as evidenced by this mark on his neck.
Djiboutian employees unpaid 05 months
Djiboutian News February 07,2023.
#Djibouti #dictatorship #IOG
05 months without pay, for these employees of a public company at Lake Assal, located 90 minutes from the capital City.
These Djiboutian employees have not been paid since September 2022 while their foreign colleagues are paid on time and without delay.
Despite their complaints to the competent authorities, these Djiboutian employees find themselves without a solution to assert their rights.
These employees abused and exploited by their company, decide to post a video on social networks, to challenge the Djiboutian authorities and in particular the Djiboutian dictator president, who is responsible for this economic crisis, resulting from corruption, embezzlement of property public, practiced by the system of the regime.
The situation of these unpaid employees is not an isolated case, we remember in our previous articles of the last 3 years, concerning unpaid teachers, unpaid nurses, unpaid television agents, unpaid cement plant employees, unpaid Djibouti port and Tadjourah port officials, unpaid security guards and the list goes on.
In addition to political muzzling, through the police and military violence practiced by the dictatorial and family regime of the despot IOG, the poverty of Djiboutians is programmed by a business leadership, corrupt, ruthless and increasingly rich without the knowledge of the majority who suffer as this video shows.
Djibouti is rich but Djiboutians are poor.
DJIBOUTI NEWS FEBRUARY 03 , 2023
Djiboutian News February 03,2023.
#Djibouti #dictatorship #IOG
Djibouti, situation as of February 03, 2023.
Serious human rights violations are increasing under the regime of dictator IOG.
After the autopsy carried out on the remains of young Abdoulkader Obakar Houmed, the day after his death, it is confirmed that he was indeed subjected to abuse and torture according to medical reports and as evidenced by this mark on his neck.
He undoubtedly died as a result of these tortures in the police jails in Dhikil on the night of January 30, 2023.
It must be said that this violence has already caused a dozen victims to die, under torture or during arrests during the year 2021-2022 and at the start of 2023. We remember Said Ali Cheik, who died in detention on June 20, 2022 for lack of medical assistance, We remember Omar Daoud, detained, tortured and then released and who died on May 03, 2022, We remember Farah Loubak, tortured 2 weeks then who died in detention on December 22, 2021, We remember Gadidcheh Ladieh Omar, who died at the hands of the police on September 11, 2019, We remember the young Aden Adaweh Abdilahi, who died on May 9, 2021, We remember the young mother Férouze mahamoud abdilahi, mother of four young children, died at the hands of the army in Ali-Sabieh on March 29, 2022, the list is unfortunately very very long.What can be said of this cowardly and generalized silence of our compatriots in the face of these barbarities?
Also in the afternoon of February 03, 2023, a video is posted online illustrating a frightening scene where a military leader of the Djiboutian armed forces (in scruffy clothes) armed with a Kalashnikov, points his weapon in the direction of civilian traders and fires a shot in the air.
The soldiers reportedly opened fire on a vehicle carrying kat. On this video we hardly see the agents of the customs service.
The soldiers arrested a young driver, threatened him with their weapons, then confiscated some of his belongings when, by sheer l