Free Fakhri Abdul Qadr El Atrash

Mr Fakhri Abdul Qadr El-Atrash, a husband and father of two, has been kidnapped and unlawfully detained by a militia in Tripoli since November 2015. He was previously held by Daesh in Derna and upon his release he left Libya for Turkey.
A civil servant responsible for directing youth projects in the Eastern Province, he was actively involved in the February 17th Revolution in Derna and Egypt, where he represented the National Transitional Council in seeking Egyptian support for the Revolution.

When he returned to Tripoli on 17th November 2015, while meeting with colleagues at a café near the Foreign Ministry, Mr Fakhri was approached by three individuals who asked him to confirm his identity and accompany them for a ten minute interview. When he refused, he was taken at gunpoint by car to an unknown destination. Several months later, an individual who was detained by the same group informed Mr Fakhri’s family that he had heard him calling in a nearby cell.

Mr Fakhri remains in the custody of a militia near El-Khadba Prison. His lawyer, Dr Sami Salem El-Atrash, has held talks with the General Public Prosecutor in order to have the unlawful detention of Mr Fakhri brought to an end. These include requests for Mr Fakhri to be presented to the Prosecutor for an official investigation to be carried out. To date no such action has been taken by the General Public Prosecutor.

We call on the civil rights community to urge all concerned parties, including non-governmental agencies such as Amnesty International, Libyan Lawyers for Justice, Human Rights Watch and others, to join us in calling for the immediate release of Mr Fakhri.