Rights groups "hopeful" about Bility

Human rights groups "remain hopeful" that the government will release detained human rights defender and journalist, Hassan Bility, and two others. There was, as yet, "no clear information" concerning a possible release of the three men, who have been held incommunicado since their arrest on 24 June, rights activists in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, told IRIN on Friday. An official from the National Human Rights Centre told IRIN that President Charles Taylor had recently decided the court martial board should convene in order to hear the case. "This is the latest information that we have on the case," he said. "It is good to know, but it does not give the whole picture of how much longer we will have to wait. We can only remain hopeful." Human rights activists in Liberia were "quite optimistic that something will happen" regarding the release of the three men but felt they should not say much until it did, a source told IRIN. "The optimism has been generated by the recent steps the government took - such as the lifting of the State of Emergency, which had been in place since February; the lifting of the ban on political rallies; and the removal of the soldiers from the streets," he said. "This has made us feel that even Bility and the other two could soon be released too," he added. Bility is the editor of the private weekly newspaper, The Analyst. He was arrested with Ansumana Kamara and Mohammad Kamara in Monrovia, allegedly on suspicion of operating a "terrorist cell" of the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) in the capital city. The online news provider allAfrica.com reported on Tuesday that there were suggestions Bility and the others could be released as part of government proposals for a political settlement to the long-running Liberian crisis. AllAfrica.com quoted Foreign Minister Monie Captan as saying that the government was prepared to free all those in detention as part of a political settlement to the crisis. In an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) radio station in Washington DC, USA, on 19 September, Captan denied that there were any unlawful detainees in Liberia. He accused those in jail of being involved in war activities. Humanitarian workers are concerned about displacement and general instability that has surrounded a new round of fighting between government and LURD forces, particularly in Bong County, north-central Liberia, and around the northern towns of Voinjama and Zorzor.