Mohamed Daoud Chehem is a senior civil servant, noted opposition leader and former presidential candidate for the Azuria Development Party (PDD) in

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

. Chehem is a member of the Afar ethnic group, and was part of the Afar rebel

Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy The Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (french: Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie, ar, الجبهة من أجل استعادة الوحدة والديمقراطية) is a political party in Djibouti. It is ...

(FRUD) opposition movement. In 1991, in a wave of mass arrests in the midst of a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

between FRUD and

Hassan Gouled Aptidon Hassan Gouled Aptidon ( so, Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon; ar, حسن جوليد أبتيدون) (October 15, 1916 – November 21, 2006) was the first President of Djibouti from 1977 to 1999. Biography He was born in the small village of Gerisa in t ...

's oppressive regime, Chehem was imprisoned and tortured.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, in a statement, said that prisoners like Chehem "may in fact be prisoners of conscience, imprisoned because of their opposition to the government rather than because there is any evidence that they participated in anti-government violence." In 1997 it was widely reported that Chehem along with five other FRUD members, was abducted from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and given over to agents of

's regime. Chehem was again subjected to torture and the political prisoners' plight became the subject of campaigns by Amnesty International and other

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

groups. In addition, United Nations Special Rapporteur of the

Commission on Human Rights A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

, Nigel S. Rodley sent an urgent request for their release to Aptidon's government. During the April 2005 elections in Djibouti, only the country's third multiparty presidential election, Chehem became a prominent opposition candidate. But he eventually dropped out of the campaign in March, citing lack of funds and harassment by the government.

Ismail Omar Guelleh Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

, the current president has served since 1999 and his regime has been decried for its

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

nature and

violations. Chehem was the last of the opposition candidates to drop out, leaving Guellah to run unopposed and win 100% of the vote. Chehem and other opposition leaders have since accused Guellah of attempting to return Djibouti to

one-party rule A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

References

Amnesty International report on 1991 arrestRecord of UN appeal for Chehem's releaseBBC article on Chehem's withdrawal from the race

External links

Publius Pundit opinion blog on the presidential race
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chehem, Mohamad Daoud Djiboutian torture victims Djiboutian prisoners and detainees Living people Prisoners and detainees of Djibouti Year of birth missing (living people) Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy politicians