Fathi El-Jahmi: Libyan Dissident Needs to be Freed

I just received a trackback to this post from the blog In Context, which has posted a timely reminder that the Libyan dissident, Fathi El-Jahmi, is still missing. My post to which they linked was written last September 9.

Their post is titled "Another Forgotten Dissident," and the veracity of this claim is borne out by the fact that Google News lists no returns on his name. The principal op-ed quoted at In Context is by Claudia Rosett, who's done superb work on this case, but the date on her essay, again, supports the blog's contention: September 8, 2004.

Pushing democracy in the Middle East is a noble and worthwhile goal for the reasons we've argued here since our blog began in early 2004. Part of that effort must be directed to freeing political prisoners languishing in dictator's prisons, even when the dictator in question has come clean, at least to an extent. Perhaps the administration could bring up Fathi El-Jahmi, first to the Libyan ambassador, and then, via the President himself, to the world.