LIBYA RELEASES POLITICAL AND ISLAMIST PRISONERS BUT STILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L TRIPOLI 000227 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, DRL/NESCA AND DRL/IRF E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/16/2019 TAGS: PHUM PREL PTER KIRF LY SUBJECT: LIBYA RELEASES POLITICAL AND ISLAMIST PRISONERS BUT STILL BRISTLES AT HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT REF: A. 08 TRIPOLI 472 ¶B. 08 TRIPOLI 943 ¶C. 08 TRIPOLI 320 CLASSIFIED BY: Gene Cretz, Ambassador. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) The head of the Human Rights Society of Libya (HRSL), Muhammed Tarnesh, confirmed to the UK Embassy on March 13 that Jamal al-Haji and Faraj Humaid have been released from detention and are with their families. He did not provide information on the terms of their release or whether legal proceedings had concluded. Al-Haji and Humaid were the last of eleven political detainees sentenced to prison last June for attempting to foment rebellion against the "people's authority system" and conducting unauthorized communications with an official of a foreign government (ref A). Al-Haji, Humaid, and twelve others - including self-described regime critic Idriss Boufayed - were arrested in February 2007 in conjunction with a planned political protest and an attendant meeting with poloff to discuss it. Most of the group were released last December (ref B),but al-Haji and Humaid were reportedly held on unnamed charges predating their 2007 arrest. Tarnesh said speculation that the final detainee - Abdulrahman al-Qutawi - had been released is premature. Al-Qutawi, who has not been seen since his February 2007 arrest and who did not undergo a public trial reportedly, remains in detention at a state security prison in or around Tripoli. ¶2. (C) At nearly the same time the GOL reportedly released the two Boufayed prisoners, the Qadhafi Development Foundation (QDF) announced that it had secured the release of 26 members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). The QDF had previously brokered the release of some 90 individuals the Foundation identfied as LIFG detainees (ref C). Under the terms of their release, the detainees undergo rehabilitative training and are provided financial support from the QDF. They are required to pledge that they will refrain from illegal activities upon release. Tarnesh confirmed the group had been released and claimed a central role in the negotiations (Note: While the HRSL operates under the QDF umbrella, the negotiations have been managed under the auspices of the QDF's Human Rights Committee chaired by Saleh Abdulsalam Saleh with Ali al-Salabi as lead negotiator/theologian focusing on educating detainees in moderate Islam and reintegrating the detainees into Libyan society. End note.) ¶3. (C) Tarnesh told the UK embassy that he had no information on the allegations made by the U.S.-based organization, International Christian Concern, that four Arab converts to Christianity had been detained at Tripoli International Airport en route to Malta for a conference. He said he found the claims unlikely. ¶4. (C) Comment: In the past, Tarnesh has been a useful contact of the Embassy. In December, however, he cut off contact with us in protest of Israel's military strikes in Gaza. He told the UK Embassy that he is now boycotting the US Embassy in protest of what he characterized as the USG's "inaccurate" Human Rights Report. His complaint about the Human Rights Report echoes that of the GOL. We will continue to make the point to the QDF and the GOL that the best way to address their concerns is through dialogue with the Embassy. End comment. CRETZ