Waiss was arrested by the Djibouti police on 8 August 2014 when he was covering a peaceful opposition rally protesting against the repression of its members by authorities.

Because of the ill-treatment Waiss was subjected to during his arrest and pretrial detention, Alkarama had sent an urgent appeal to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights to Freedom of Opinion and Expression on 18 August 2014.

On this occasion our organisation reiterates its call on the Djibouti Government to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee issued during the examination of Djibouti in 2013, including the creation of an environment conducive to freedom of expression by changing its press laws and putting an end to the practice of arbitrary detention.

For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Dir: +41 22 734 1007 Ext: 810)