From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Mar 24 2010 - 08:13:36 EST
President of Djibouti is accused of murder
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Paris, 24 March 2010 (AFP) A Djibouti businessman and opposition figure
filed a civil lawsuit in Paris against President Ismael Omar Guelleh for
serious crimes that include murder and extortion, he and his lawyer said
Tuesday to the French news Agnecy AFP.
Abdourahman Boreh, who has headed a large infrastructure compnay and other
public bussinesses in Djibouti, accused the president and his wife Khadra
Haid of murder, kidnapping, torture and extortion.
According to Boreh's lawyer, Olivier Morice, Boreh "has been the target of
threats and intimidation by Djibouti authorities, which forced him to flee
Djibouti in autumn 2008."
In press conference in Paris, Mr. Abdurahman Boreh said he was victim of
multiple extortion attempts and was forced to suspend his business in the
country. At first the attacks targeted his assets and businesses but it
escalted to to target his business associates and family members, two of
whom died in suspicous circumstances, Morice said.
Mr. Boreh's nephew has been found hanged at his home in February 2009. Also
his cousin died after being detained and tortured in prison Gabode and
another cousin is incarcerated for a year, Morice added.
Mr. Boreh, who has dual citizenship of France and Djibouti, detailed number
of events that forced him out of the Djibouti. He accuses the Djiboutian
government of arbitrarily detaining his staff including the General Manager
of one of his companies, Soprim Construction, who has a Canadian
citizenship, and its chief accountant who is from India.
"I've lost more than 30 million dollars (22 million euros) and I no longer
have any commercial activities in Djibouti. I had to close down everything,"
Boreh told AFP.
The aim from extortion and political pressure is to prevent Mr. Boreh from
running in the upcoming presidential election next year, according to
Olivier Morice.
Mr. Boreh lawyer, Olivier Morice, also defended the interests of Elizabeth
Borrel, widow of French judge Bernard Borrel, whose corpse was found
half-burned in a ravine in Djibouti in 1995.
For years, Judge Borrel's affair strained relations between Paris and its
former colony, where France has its largest military base abroad with nearly
3,000 men.
A Djiboutian court declared the incident as a suicide. However, Judge
Borrel's wife Elisabeth Boreel, herself a magistrate, believes her husband
was assassinated by Djibouti authorities and accused the French government
of covering-up the truth to protect its strategic interests in Djibouti.
In other development, Mr. Boreh in interview with VOA, warned from changing
the constitution to extend presidential terms. Parlimenat in Djibouti is
expected to make a decision on whatether the current two terms presidental
limit should be extended to three terms. Recently, President Guelleh was
quoted as saying the people of Djibouti are demanding a change to the
constitution which will extend presidential term limits.
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