LIBYA. POLITICAL PRISONER MAY FACE DEATH PENALTY

Libya's most prominent political prisoner, Fathi al-Jahmi, faces a possible death sentence for slandering Libyan leader Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi and talking with a foreign official, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Libyan government is taking great pains to introduce a democratic face to the world," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of Human Rights Watch. "But it appears willing to execute people for criticizing its leader or talking with a foreign official, which shows how far it has to go."
According to the Libyan government, al-Jahmi's trial began in late 2005, but the authorities have not made the charges known. His court-appointed lawyer told Human Rights Watch that al-Jahmi faces counts under article 206 of the penal code, among other offences, but the lawyer did not know the details.
Article 206 of the penal code imposes the death penalty on those who call "for the establishment of any grouping, organization or association proscribed by law," and on those who belong to or support such an organization.
Human Rights Watch visited al-Jahmi in May 2005 in a special detention facility in Tripoli. He said then that he faced charges on three counts under articles 166 and 167 of the penal code: trying to overthrow the government; insulting al-Qadhafi; and contacting foreign authorities. The third charge, he said, is due to conversations he had with a US diplomat in Tripoli.
Article 166 of the penal code imposes the death penalty on anyone who talks to or conspires with a foreign official to provoke or contribute to an attack against Libya. Article 167 orders up to life in prison for conspiring with a foreign official to harm Libya's military, political or diplomatic position.