Fathi Eljahmi, the most prominent democratic dissident in Libya, died last Thursday. Eljahmi had endured seven years in unspeakable conditions in the Libyan prison system. His crime? He spoke out, unflinchingly, for freedom of speech and democratic reforms. Two days before his death, with Eljahmi already in a coma, the Libyans sent him to Jordan. The U.S. State Department lauded his "release" as a welcome development.
It would be wrong to say that the free world was indifferent to Eljahmi's fate. His brother Mohamed, an American citizen, spent years calling attention to the case. Mohamed even succeeded in getting then-Sen. Joseph Biden to make a direct plea for the dissident's freedom to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. Amazingly, Eljahmi was released. Three weeks later, however, when it became clear that he would continue to speak his mind, he was re-arrested -- along with his wife and eldest son.
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