DETAINED HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FATHI EL-JAHMI "RELEASED"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TRIPOLI 000223

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/MAG AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR LY
SUBJECT: DETAINED HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FATHI EL-JAHMI "RELEASED"

REF: A) TRIPOLI 183, B) TRIPOLI 142

CLASSIFIED BY: Chris Stevens, CDA, Embassy Tripoli, Dept of
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: Reports by the Qadhafi Development Foundation
(QDF) that detained human rights activist Fathi el-Jahmi was
"released" to the custody of his family appear to be premature.
Security officials continue to effectively control access to
el-Jahmi at the Tripoli Medical Center. His family's access has
improved but is not unconditional, and his ability to regularly
leave his room for exercise and home visits remains the subject
of negotiations with the QDF. According to his doctor,
el-Jahmi's medical condition has improved and he could be
released to his home for continuing treatment on an outpatient
basis. El-Jahmi and his family are concerned that access to
medical treatment might be curtailed if he were released from
the hospital. Represenatives of Human Rights Watch and
Physicians for Human Rights have arrived in Tripoli and are
scheduled to visit el-Jahmi today for independent assessments of
his status and medical condition. End summary.

FATHI EL-JAHMI "RELEASED"


2. (C) Citing statements by Qadhafi Development Foundation (QDF)
human rights director Saleh Abdulsalam, international media
reported on March 11 that detained human rights activist Fathi
el-Jahmi (FAJ) was "released", but remained at the Tripoli
Medical Center for treatment. (Note: El-Jahmi has been in the
GOL's custody since his re-arrest in early 2004. End note.)
P/E Chief spoke with QDF Executive Director Dr. Yusuf Sawani on
March 12. Sawani carefully stressed that el-Jahmi had been
"transferred" from the custody of the GOL to the custody of his
family, noting that since he had not been in detention (from the
GOL's perspective),he could not have been "released".
Referencing the el-Jahmi family's delay in responding to the
QDF's earlier offers to allow el-Jahmi to return home (ref A),
Sawani said the family had "finally" agreed to take custody of
him. A March 12 Reuters report quoted el-Jahmi's son, Muhammad,
as saying: "We ~ are very happy with the improvement in his
health, particularly now that he can see us continuously. I am
now responsible for his needs -- food, drink and everything."

BUT REMAINS AT TRIPOLI MEDICAL CENTER


3. (C) Sawani said the QDF had proposed transferring el-Jahmi to
his family home in Tripoli or to a private clinic. The family
told the QDF they could not accommodate el-Jahmi at home and
raised concerns about the cost of private clinic care,
suggesting the QDF underwrite those expenses. After consulting
with FAJ's treating physicians at the Tripoli Medical Center
(TMC) and, according to Sawani, with the family, it was decided
that the best course of action was to keep el-Jahmi at the
government-run TMC, where the state pays for his treatment "as
it would with any Libyan citizen".


4. (C) Asked whether Emboffs could visit el-Jahmi, Sawani
stressed that the GOL no longer has custody of FAJ. As such,
neither the GOL nor the QDF had any mandate to facilitate access
to el-Jahmi, who was ostensibly free to come and go as he
pleased. Sawani cautioned that "as with any patient in
hospital", Emboffs would have to coordinate a visit with
el-Jahmi's family, who were now responsible for him. "It is for
the family alone to decide whether a visit would be
appropriate", he said.

FAMILY VISITS


5. (C) P/E Chief spoke by telephone March 12 with el-Jahmi's
eldest son, Muhammad, and daughter, Lamia, who said access to
el-Jahmi for the family had recently improved. A number of
el-Jahmi's immediate family were able to visit about one week
ago. In the last three days, Muhammad el-Jahmi and his mother
visited daily for long periods (his wife stayed seven hours on
March 11),and were able to bring him food and sundry items.
Muhammad el-Jahmi said that on March 10 he had to coordinate
their visit with the QDF; however, on March 11 and March 12 he
and his mother only had to telephone the hospital before
visiting. Muhammad asked the QDF on March 12 whether el-Jahmi
could exit his room regularly for exercise to alleviate edema in
his legs, and whether he might be able to make a visit home.
The QDF "agreed in principle", but details of those arrangements
are still being sorted out.


6. (C) Asked whether Emboffs could visit el-Jahmi, Muhammad and
Lamia stressed that the family was not in a position to sanction
or coordinate visits, and suggested that Post contact the QDF.
Standing permission for access to him at this point extends only
to Muhammad and his mother. The family had no objection to a

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visit by Emboffs if the QDF agreed.

MINDERS STILL PRESENT


7. (C) P/E Chief visited el-Jahmi on March 12 in his TMC
hospital room, located directly across from a nurse's station.
When the duty nurse was asked which room el-Jahmi was in, two
plainclothes security officers standing in front of el-Jahmi's
room approached and asked who wanted to see him and why. The
hospital's "security director," after determining that the visit
had been coordinated with the QDF and the family, said P/E Chief
could see al-Jahmi after el-Jahmi finished his evening prayers
and supper.

TREATING PHYSICIAN SAYS IMPROVEMENT IN MEDICAL CONDITION
CONTINUES


8. (C) While waiting, P/E Chief spoke by phone with el-Jahmi's
treating physician, Dr. Abdulrahman Mehdy, who said el-Jahmi's
condition had continued to improve since Emboffs last visited
el-Jahmi on February 20. El-Jahmi's EKG readings were close to
normal, his breathing was less labored, he tired less easily and
the edema in his legs had begun to ease. Mehdy said el-Jahmi
could, in his judgment, be released from hospital immediately
and could continue treatment on an outpatient basis with visits
to clinic once every week or two, a significant improvement
since just three weeks ago. El-Jahmi had undergone a complete
battery of tests, to include EKG and CBC, blood sugar and lipids
profile blood tests on March 12, and would undergo a sonogram on
March 13. Doctors had discovered that el-Jahmi's vision had
deteriorated when he was recently allowed reading material
again; el-Jahmi's eyes were tested and new spectacles prescribed
on March 12.

EL-JAHMI IN GOOD SPIRITS


9. (C) After a wait of about an hour, P/E Chief saw el-Jahmi,
who was accompanied by his wife, son Muhammad and a man
described as his nurse, Abdullah Bashir. El-Jahmi was visibly
tired, but was alert and appeared to be in good spirits. He
made his first walk of any distance earlier that day to have his
eyes tested in a clinic located in a different wing of the
hospital. Excited about having left his room for the first time
in long while, he expressed frustration that the edema in his
legs had not subsided more quickly. (Note: His physician said he
had started el-Jahmi on a different analgesic medication about
one week ago to help ease swelling in his legs, and that the
initial signs were good. End note.)


10. (C) El-Jahmi said his condition had improved recently. He
was permitted to raise the blinds in his room about one week
ago, allowing him a view and some sunlight. His Koran had been
returned to him, although reading had been difficult until his
new spectacles had been prescribed. He had been allowed trips
outside his room more regularly, and understood that he would be
allowed to begin regular walks soon to help his heart and edema.
Most importantly, his family had been able to visit regularly.
Asked whether he needed anything, he stressed two things:
continued medical treatment and his freedom. His medical
condition had improved considerably since treatment began in
December 2007; however, further treatment was needed. He and
his family were concerned that access to treatment might be
curtailed - directly or indirectly - if he were released from
the hospital. Unbidden, el-Jahmi stressed that while he wants
to go home, he remains unwilling to enter into a tacit agreement
to refrain from criticizing al-Qadhafi's regime or speaking
publicly about his detention as the price for his release. He
was unaware until told by P/E Chief that representatives of
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
were, with the QDF's facilitation, scheduled to visit him in the
coming days. He expressed relief that the international
community remains focused on his case, saying he felt he had
been "walking alone in the wilderness" for a long time.


11. (C) Comment: While we lack the expertise to comment
authoritatively on el-Jahmi's medical condition, he appeared to
have improved since our last visit with him in February (ref B).
Unfettered access and, should he choose, the ability to: 1)
leave his room, and: 2) leave the TMC are important measures of
whether he has in fact been "transferred" from GOL custody to
that of his family. Security officials remain outside his room
and effectively control access to him, and his ability to leave
his room regularly for exercise and/or home visits is apparently
being negotiated with the QDF, suggesting he remains for
practical purposes under GOL custody. The distinction between

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el-Jahmi having been at the TMC in the GOL's custody and his
being there now in the custody of his family is at best a subtle
one. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the QDF's
announcement of el-Jahmi's "release" was orchestrated as window
dressing on the eve of the visit by HRW and PHR representatives.
An important component of any agreement for his release will be
specific agreement on the terms of his continued medical
treatment. End comment.
STEVENS