Jailed website technician still waiting for medical care after four months

Reporters Without Borders deplores in the strongest terms the appalling treatment of the website employee Maydaneh Abdallah Okieh, who has been held in Gabode prison since 19 May for allegedly insulting a police officer and defaming the police. Okieh, a technician responsible for the news website La Voix de Djibouti, has been refused medical care since imprisonment. During an official visit by the president of the National Commission for Human Rights, Ali Mohamed Abdou, to the prison on 4 September, Okieh informed him about his predicament. Despite this plea for help, the jailed technician has still not received medical treatment. “The refusal of medical care is very worrying, especially in view of the dreadful conditions in Gabode prison, as illustrated by the recent death of a political prisoner who had been held there for only a month,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We urge the prison authorities to respect the basic rights of this wrongfully convicted journalist.” According to information received by Reporters Without Borders, Okieh was severely beaten by criminal investigation officers in Djibouti city before being taken to the prison, sustaining serious injuries to his eye and ear. On 28 August, Mohamoud Elmi Rayaleh, a jailed political activist, died in custody despite being in good health when he was admitted to Gabode prison on 3 August. Okieh awaits his release in one month, on 19 October. Djibouti is ranked 167th of 179 countries in the 2013 World Press Freedom Index. More about freedom if information in Djibouti: • The Okieh case • The Daher Ahmed Farah case Photo: Maydaneh Abdallah Okieh