afrol News, 29 May - The Libyan government has released the political prisoner Jum'a Boufayed, whose whereabouts were unknown for 15 months. Mr Boufayed was arrested with 13 men for planning a peaceful demonstration to protest police violence in Libya. Twelve of the men are on trial for attempting to overthrow the government, and one man has been missing since the arrest.

Mr Boufayed's unexpected release was first reported on the Libyan website 'al-Mostakbal', based in the United Kingdom, which has closely followed the case. The editor told the New York-based group Human Rights Watch that he spoke with Mr Boufayed's family in Tripoli on 28 May and confirmed the release. Libyan authorities gave no explanation for letting Mr Boufayed go.

The detainee still unaccounted for is 'Abd al-Rahman al-Qotaiwi, a fourth-year medical student, whom security officials arrested with Mr Boufayed and the 12 other men. "We are relieved to hear of Jum'a Boufayed's release and hopefully 'Abd al-Rahman al-Qotaiwi will be next," Mr Abrahams said.

Another of the 13 detainees is Idris Boufayed, brother of Jum'a, who is said to suffer from advanced cancer. A pro-government newspaper, 'al-Watan', reported on 28 May that an official "medical committee" had "confirmed its consent for the release of [Idris] Boufayed on medical grounds."

It remains unclear if Idris Boufayed, who was said to be the key organiser of the planned February 2007 demonstration, will be released and, if so, whether to a hospital or his home. The identity and authority of the medical committee are unknown. The Ghadafi Foundation run by Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, son of Libyan leader Muhamar Al Ghadafi, has said it is working on Idris Boufayed's behalf, given his failing health.

In late April, the Boufayed family and its lawyer issued a statement in which the family thanked the Ghadafi Foundation for Idris's medical care. The statement said that the family was only interested in Idris's health and urged that his case not be "used for political aims."

Libyan authorities arrested the group of men on 15 and 16 February 2007, before they could hold their planned demonstration in Tripoli. The demonstration was to commemorate the anniversary of a violent clash in February 2006 between demonstrators and police in Benghazi, Libya'’s second-largest city, in which at least 11 people died.

Jum'a Boufayed, being released this week, was apparently not one of the demonstration planners. Security agents arrested him a few hours after he gave an interview to the 'al-Mostakbal' website about his brother Idris's arrest.

The other 12 men have been on trial over the past year for planning to overthrow the government, possession of arms, and meeting with an official from a foreign government. The next court session is reportedly set for mid-June.

Human Rights Watch today hailed the release of Jum'a as a "welcome step" in the case. "This is excellent news because for more than a year we feared Jum`a Boufayed might be dead," said Fred Abrahams of the NGO. "We hope that the others arrested with him will also be free soon," he added.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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