Whether al-Fateh University is run by the Libyan government; whether the government or the university administration operates detention or prison facilities on campus; whether clashes involving Berbers and Arabs occurred on the campus in February 1996 [LBY39001.E]

According to The World of Learning 2002, al-Fateh University in Tripoli is a state-controlled university (Oct. 2001, 1065)

In a 5 June 2002 telephone interview, a professor of political science at the University of Texas in San Antonio stated that although he could not confirm the existence of detention facilities on the al-Fateh University campus, the Libyan authorities will use discretely, on a temporary basis, unconventional places, including apartments in residential areas and learning institutions, for the purposes of arbitrary detention and interrogation. On university campuses, the authorities would use premises that would not attract the attention of students or the academic community, such as warehouses or basements to detain and interrogate persons suspected of dissent (ibid.). The professor also stated that he was not aware of clashes involving Berbers and Arabs on the al-Fateh campus in February 1996. The professor wrote in 1997 a book entitled Libya's Qaddafi: The Politics of Contradiction (University Press of Florida 29 Nov. 2001).

Additional and/or corroborating information on al-Fateh University in Tripoli and the use of its facilities for detention purposes could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Professor of political science, University of Texas, San Antonio. 5 June 2002. Telephone interview.

University Press of Florida (UPF). 29 November 2001. "Libya's Qaddafi: The Politics of Contradiction by Mansour O. El-Kikhia." http://www.upf.com/Spring1997/elkikhia.html [Accessed 5 June 2002]

The World of Learning 2002. October 2001. London: Europa Publications.

Additional Sources Consulted


IRB databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International

European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI)

Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH)

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

World News Connection (WNC)