Libya to deport Eritreans

2003-08-08 17:13

Nicosia - Libyan authorities plan to deport seven Eritrean army deserters back to their home country where they could face detention and torture, Amnesty International warned in a statement received here on Friday.

Among them are political dissidents who if sent back could face "extrajudicial execution", the London-based rights group said.

"Libyan authorities are reportedly intending to deport the seven detainees ... to Eritrea in the coming days, apparently at the request of the Eritrean government which has close relations with Libya."

If returned they are "at high risk of being arrested on arrival, detained incommunicado and in secret without charge or trial for an indefinite period." Amnesty said it had only the given names of five of the detainees - Mesfin Aman, Rezene Eyassu, Yonas Negussie, Abel Tekle and Michael Yemane.

The other two, Mesghina Seyoum and Zacharias Michael Belay, had already been detained in Eritrea on charges of criticizing the government, the rights group said.

All seven were being held at a camp for illegal African migrants in Gharyan about 90km south of Tripoli after apparently travelling overland via Sudan in a bid to reach asylum in Europe.

Military services is obligatory in Eritrea, which fought a bloody war against neighbouring Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000.

The human rights records of President Issaias Afeworki's regime has been widely criticised by Western watchdogs. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA