New York, August 10, 2011—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Libyan government to immediately extend all recognized legal rights to imprisoned American journalist Matthew VanDyke, who was identified as missing in Libya and is now confirmed to be in state custody, according to a recent news report.
“For the past five months, Matthew VanDyke has been denied his fundamental right to access consular assistance and his detention was kept secret,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem. “The Libyan government has an obligation, under the terms of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to provide VanDyke with immediate access to this assistance. This must happen without delay.”
VanDyke, had been missing since March 13, when he last had contact with his mother. In April, a Libyan friend of VanDyke’s contacted his family saying that VanDyke was believed to have been captured in mid-March by forces loyal to Qaddafi, the mother told CPJ.