The whereabouts and well-being of Sudanese translator Abdelrahman Ali Gaily continue to remain a mystery. In 1982, Gaily was offered a job at the International Centre of Research in Tripoli, Libya, as translator of the “Green Book”, written by Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi and which is his political and socio-economic theory. In April 1983, Gaily’s wife, […]
The whereabouts and well-being of Sudanese translator Abdelrahman
Ali Gaily continue to remain a mystery. In 1982, Gaily was
offered a job at the International Centre of Research in Tripoli,
Libya, as translator of the “Green Book”, written by Colonel
Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi and which is his political and socio-economic
theory. In April 1983, Gaily’s wife, Eija, was expecting her
husband’s arrival from Libya to Finland, where she and their
child had been living. However, Gaily did not come. The Libyan
government denied that Gaily had been detained, but unofficial
sources stated that he was detained between March and April 1983
for unexplained political reasons.
Gaily had been in weekly phone contact with his wife and also in
regular contact through letters. His last phone call to her was
in March 1983. Eija Gaily tried to contact her husband several
times after he failed to call her; however, each time she was
given a different reason for his absence. The only reported
sightings of Gaily since then have been in a Tripoli prison in
1984 and 1986.
Gaily studied languages in Sudan and continued his studies in
Sweden where he worked at the Libyan People’s Bureau from 1980 to
1981. He then moved to the Libyan Embassy in Helsinki where he
worked until December 1982. At the time of his “disappearance,”
Gaily was hoping to begin translating Scandinavian children’s
writers into Arabic, having just passed a Swedish-Arabic
translation exam.
At the time of Gaily’s “disappearance,” political prisoners in
Libya were often held for long periods of time without charge or
trial or were subjected to unfair trials, often being denied a
defence lawyer or the right of appeal. Moreover, all political
activities were banned.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
“disappearance” of Abdelrahman Ali Gaily and requesting that any
details about his disappearance be made public
Appeals To
His Excellency Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi
Leader of the Revolution
Office of the Leader of the Revolution
Tripoli
Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab JamahiriyaHis Excellency
‘Umar Mustafa al-Muntasir
Secretary of the People’s Committee of the People’s Bureau for
Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation
Tripoli
Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Send copies of appeals to the Libyan representative in your
country
(in the United States as well as Canada)
Permanent Mission of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya to the United Nations
309-315 East 48th Street
New York, NY
10017 USA
Tel: (212) 752 5775
Fax: (212) 593 4787
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
