| August 22, 2005
Senator Chuck Hagel
Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Re: Release of Libyan Political Prisoners
Dear Senator Hagel:
The American Libyan Freedom Alliance (ALFA) is a nonprofit
American organization, registered in the State of Virginia.
It was founded for the promotion of democracy, human rights,
justice, accountability and the rule of law, in Libya. Since
ALFA's founding, we have met with Senators, Congressmen,
and officials in the Department of State, to share our concerns
about the oppressive military regime in our old country.
I learned today, Monday, August 22, 2005 that you were
planning a visit to Libya. I called your office to ask about
the time of your visit, and I was told that you were enroute
to Libya. I understand that while in Libya, you will be
meeting with high officials in that country. Although we
have missed the opportunity to meet with you prior to your
visit, I hope that we are not too late to communicate to
you an important message, of concern to us and our many
friends and families back in Libya.
I understand that you will be discussing ways and means
of normalization of ties between the United States and Libya.
While we support the essence of the mission, we would like
to point out that such normalization was preconditioned
on improved human rights record of the Gadhafi regime, which
remains dismal and among the worst of all nations. While
we wish you success in your mission, we urge you to ask
Gadhafi to release all political prisoners such as Fathi
Eljahmi and Abdelraziq Al Mansouri, two of the hundreds
of Libyan political prisoners in Libya.
Fathi Eljahmi is a prominent Libyan dissident who openly
advocated the need for free elections, transparency, and
freedom of the media. Fathi Eljahmi was mentioned by name
by president Bush in one of his speeches at the White House
earlier in 2004, as an example of bravery in the face of
tyranny. Abdelraziq Al mansouri is a freelance Libyan writer
who raised the same issues as Fathi Eljahmi, and called
for democracy and transparency in government operations.
He was arrested on January 12, 2005 and held incommunicado
since his arrest. He is being tortured and has suffered
broken bones, allegedly as a result of a fall earlier this
month. Human Rights Watch and other Human Rights Groups
have written extensively about both men. We ask you to remind
Gadhafi that any improved ties with the United States is
not possible without corresponding improvements in his human
rights record.
Sincerely,
Mohamed M. Bugaighis, Ph.D.
Chairman, American Libyan Freedom Alliance (ALFA)
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