Network of Free Ulema - Libya

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his Kin, and his Companions

PRESS RELEASE

RELEASE EMAN AL-OBAIDI AND ALL PRISONERS

Monday 28th March 2011

The Network of Free Ulema – Libya condemns the brutality committed against our sister Eman
Al-Obaidi. The horrifying ordeal suffered by our sister Eman Al-Obaidi was a brutal attack on
her dignity and on her God-given rights as a human being. No person—child, woman, or
man—should ever have to suffer such humiliation or brutality whether at the hands of individ-
uals or regimes. Such cruelty is completely abhorrent to God and contravenes all prophetic,
religious, moral and legal principles and statutes. They are gross violations of human rights;
in the case of Libya, they constitute War Crimes.

God says in the Holy Qur’an: “Whosoever has spared the life of a soul, it is as though he has
spared the life of all people. Whosoever has killed a soul, it is as though he has murdered all
of mankind.” [Qur'an 5:32] We appeal to every Muslim, within the regime, or assisting it in
any way, to realise that brutalizing and killing innocent human beings is forbidden by our Cre-
ator and by His beloved Prophet of Compassion (peace be upon him), and that whoever com-
mits such crimes against humanity, or assists in committing them, in anyway whatsoever,
shall be subjected to God’s eternal wrath. Human life is sanctified by God Himself, and is pro-
tected by the Sharia and International Law.

We demand the immediate release of Eman Al-Obaidi, of all children, women, men, journal-
ists and all media personnel kidnapped and arrested by Gaddafi and his regime. We call upon
the international community to hold Gaddafi, his thugs and mercenaries—who are illegitimate
in the eyes of all Libyans—accountable for every kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder that
they have systematically committed against the innocent people of Libya. All such crimes will
be pursued at Libyan courts and also at the International Criminal Court. We shall not give
evil any refuge.

We call the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo,
to immediately issue international arrest warrants against Gaddafi, his family, and all associ-
ates who are guilty of War Crimes. They have committed inhuman crimes in front of the eyes
of the whole world. Let no more innocent people die at their blood-stained hands.

NETWORK OF FREE ULEMA

www.freeulema.org | info@freeulema.org

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 ABOUT THE NETWORK OF FREE ULEMA – LIBYA

We are a network of some of Libya’s most senior and most respected Muslim Religious Scholars
with various specializations and tribal backgrounds from across our beloved Libya. Our network
also includes some of the most respected Sufi Teachers in our country. Some top Judges, Lawyers,
Doctors, Engineers, University Professors and Intellectuals, as well as Writers and Poets, are also
members. Our network includes both men and women, old and young, locally educated and ed-
ucated-abroad. We are not a political party, and our only agenda is that of upholding the highest
religious, spiritual, moral, and human values, and the service of our beloved Libya. We are diverse
groups of different schools and outlooks, and we believe in the richness of plurality, and the wisdom
of dialogue and communication with all other faiths and cultures. Our network is only one dimen-
sion of Libya’s very rich and sophisticated Civil Society, which has always been there, but has had
to go clandestine for many years because of the regime’s repressive policies. In the New Libya,
all these seeds will sprout into a rich and vibrant culture, unified, and mutually respectful. For the
time being, security conditions do not allow us to publish a list of members. We will publish such
a list as soon as we can.

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