On 24 October 2016, Djiboutian authorities released Abdi Aden Cheik Ali, a citizen who had been arbitrarily arrested on 20 July 2016 in Ali-Sabieh following the dissemination of a video denouncing the lack of water in the region, after more than three months in arbitrary detention. Upon release, he claimed having been detained in very difficult conditions. Alkarama had already referred his case, on 10 August 2016, to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression (SR FRDX), in order to call for his release after he had been sentenced by the Djiboutian authorities to three months imprisonment.

On 10 August 2016, Alkarama referred the case of Abdi Aden Cheik Ali to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (SR FRDX), in order to call for his release after he was sentenced by the Djiboutian authorities to three months in detention following the dissemination of a video denouncing the lack of water in the region of Ali-Sabieh.

On 19 January 2016, the Court of flagrante offenses of Djibouti City condemned Kadar Abdi Ibrahim, publication co-director of the Aurore newspaper, to a two-month suspended prison sentence, while suspending the publication of this monthly newspaper also for two months. As the sentence seems to relate to the authorities' determination to cut off all means of free expression in the country in the run-up to the April 2016 presidential election, Alkarama and the Djibouti League for Human Rights (LDDH) submitted Kadar's case to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (SR FRDX) to call on the authorities to cancel the decision against him and to authorise again the publication of the Aurore newspaper.

On 15 January 2016, Alkarama seized again the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (SR FRDX) and on Torture (SRT) regarding the case of Mohamed Ibrahim Waïss, a Djiboutian journalist detained since 11 January. According to information received by Alkarama today, Mohamed was tortured by the police and he would be in a bad condition, as he has not eaten since his arrest.

On 11 January 2016, the police arrested Mohamed Ibrahim Waïss, a 41-year-old independent journalist working for the Voice of Djibouti. Regularly harassed by the authorities due to his position statements, he has since then been detained without being allowed to see his family or lawyer, while the charges against him remain undetermined. Given the risks of ill-treatment and of a possible prison sentence that he faces, on 14 January Alkarama requested the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (SR FRDX) to call on the Djibouti authorities to release him.

Alkarama is concerned and condemns the recent arrests and detentions of members of the opposition coalition, the National Salvation Union (USN) and the constant harassment suffered by members of political parties and civil society in Djibouti. In view of the authorities' increased abuses against the opposition, committed with total impunity, in the run-up to the presidential elections, on 18 December 2015 Alkarama alerted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (SR FRDX) of these violations and calls on the authorities to respect their international obligations.

On 21 December 2015, at dawn, the police and the Djiboutian army violently dispersed a religious ceremony in Balbala, near Djibouti City. Although it is still difficult to estimate the number of casualties and injuries, it appears that the State forces used lethal force in a disproportionate manner. The same day, new violations were reported during the police raid of an opposition member's home, leading to the hospitalisation of several members of the opposition coalition, the National Salvation Union (USN). Condemning such acts, Alkarama will seize the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (SR SUMX) with a view to call for the opening of an independent and impartial investigation into these events.

On 3 December 2015, as members of the opposition coalition, the National Salvation Union (USN) were going to Ali Sabieh for meetings, they were stopped for a police control during which one of them, Mohamed Abdallah Dabaleh, was fired tear gas to his chest, leaving him unconscious. Alerted, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association (SR FPAA) to intervene with the authorities and stop the escalation of violence and repression against the opposition. Meanwhile, about 40 people were arrested during the afternoon.

Alkarama and the Djibouti Human Rights League (LDDH) call again on the Djiboutian authorities to release the opponents arrested in the recent months and arbitrarily detained since. While justice was done regarding the release request for five minors detained since their arrests in early November, many people, including Mahamoud Guedi Moussa, are still detained for having expressed their opposition to a fourth consecutive term of the current president.

On 12 November 2015, Alkarama and the Djiboutian League for Human Rights (LDDH) sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Peaceful Assembly and Association (SR FPAA) following the recent waves of arrests in Djibouti. The arrests have affected many young people, including minors, of which 13 remain detained in particularly difficult conditions in the premises of the gendarmerie or at the Gabode prison. Despite efforts undertaken by their lawyer, they have not been able to benefit from their right to visits or a medical examination.