A Libyan court has sentenced, Abd al-Raziq al-Mansuri, an Internet journalist to one-and-a-half years in prison after he published articles critical of the government, Human Rights Watch said. The sentence is an apparent attempt by the government to silence free speech and dissenting views.
Abd al-Raziq wrote some 50 articles and commentaries critical of Libyan society and government for a U.K.-based website, www.akhbar-libya.com.
On October 27, al-Mansuri�s family in Libya wrote a letter (Arabic version here) to the Libyan government and local and international media and human rights organizations boldly denouncing the arrest and sentence. Such outspoken criticism is rare in Libya.
The letter said:
�we the writer, `Abd al-Raziq al-Mansuri�s family, will continue our son�s march, for he always wanted for everyone to eliminate fear. If he could not affect the people closest to him, his family, how could he affect others?�
More: Al-Mansuri's last article before his arrest
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