Libyan dissident Mohamed Eljahmi heading to Geneva
It was announced today that Mohamed Eljahmi, one of the world's most well-known Libyan dissidents, will join other prominent human rights defenders as a speaker at the third annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, on March 15, 2011.
Organized by an international coalition of 20 NGOs, including UN Watch, Freedom House and Ibuka, the Geneva Summit will provide a voice for the voiceless and advocate action on urgent human rights situations. The conference will feature victim testimonies from renowned human rights defenders, dissidents and experts, and produce draft resolutions for the UN Human Rights Council to adopt. For more on the conference, speakers and program, click here
While world attention is focused on the Qaddafi regime's current atrocities, the oppression in Libya has a long, dark history. Along with the victims of Qaddafi-sponsored terrorist attacks such as the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, untold numbers of political dissidents were imprisoned, forcibly "disappeared," and executed during the four decades of Col. Qaddafi’s rule.
Mohamed is the brother of Fathi Eljahmi, a prominent Libyan dissident who famously endured five years of torture and abuse in Libyan prisons before his death on May 21, 2009. Fathi’s crime, like that of Qaddafi’s most recent victims, was calling for political reform in Libya. His case was taken up by Vice-President Joe Biden, among others.
For years, Mohamed has been a tireless advocate for his brother’s cause, and for the larger cause of human rights in Libya.
Mohamed was one of the strongest and most persistent voices against Western rapprochement with Qaddafi’s Libya following his surrender of a WMD program in 2003. He warned that Libya's talk of reform was insincere and that the Qaddafi regime remained repressive and dictatorial. Recent events have tragically proved him prescient, and the Libyan people are now paying the price of the international community’s failure to pressure Qaddafi to change his ways.
Since the start of the protests in Libya and Qaddafi’s brutal response, Mohamed has been quoted in major news outlets around the world, passing on reports he has gathered from contacts in Libya about the situation on the ground, and calling for a a strong international response to stop Qaddafi’s violence.
At the Geneva Summit he will offer his insight into Libya’s future prospects and his views on the current crisis during a panel about the Middle East Revolution. Mohammed will be joined by Mahmoud Salem, alias “Sandmonkey,” the famous Egyptian blogger; Lina Ben Mhenni, alias “A Tunisian Girl,” a Tunisian blogger whose blog was banned in Tunisia until very recently; and Dalia Ziada, Egyptian Director of the American Islamic Congress and famous dissident, who will join via Skype.
Admission to the March 15 Geneva conference is free, and the public and media are invited to attend. For accreditation, program and schedule information, please visit http://www.genevasummit.org.
Media Contact
To arrange interviews or for more information, contact: Arielle Herzog Hadida, Coordinator
Tel: +41.78.683.0268 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Email: secretariat@genevasummit.org
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