“Arbitrary Arrest of ARD Member Following the Denunciation of Violent Assault on Eritrean Refugees in Obock Refugee Camp”.

On April 12th, 2023, the opposition group, Republican Alliance for Development (ARD), a signatory of the Charter for a Democratic Transition in Djibouti (CTD), announced that their colleague Ahmed Ali Mohamed, who serves as the organization’s secretary and president of the ARD federation in Obock, was summoned to the central office of the national police commissioner earlier that day. Subsequently, he was transferred to the criminal brigade and immediately put under custody.

The reason is believed to be his condemnation of the violence carried out by law enforcement officers against Eritrean refugees at the Markazi camp in Obock, which the Obock administration has formally denied. The incident  took place on March 28, 2023, at the Markazi refugee camp.

According to Reporters without Borders, the government led by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, who was unfairly reelected for a fifth term in 2021, deploys a draconian arsenal that includes judicial harassment, illegal searches, arrests, and physical violence in order to terrorize  the media.

04-12-2023 Explore