The Writers in Prison Committee says it is "deeply concerned" by the prolonged detention of Daher Ahmed Farah, the editor of the newspaper Le Renouveau and leader of the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD). According to information received, Farah was detained on 20 April 2003 following the filing of a complaint against Le Renouveau by General Zakaria Cheik Ibrahim, the deputy head of the army.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has protested against the re-arrest of newspaper editor Daher Ahmed Farah on 5 June 2003, just two days after his release from custody. The organisation has called on the authorities to release him immediately. The editor of "Le Renouveau" newspaper and head of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), Farah is the subject of several libel suits filed by the armed forces.

The World Association of Newspapers has written to the authorities in Djibouti voicing "serious concern" at the detention of journalist Daher Ahmed Farah and the seizure of his newspaper. According to reports, Mr Farah, editor of the newspaper Le Renouveau and leader of the opposition Mouvement pour le renouveau démocratique, was arrested on 20 April. Mr Farah was placed in solitary confinement at Gabode prison after his arrest and only his mother has been allowed to visit him.

Daher Ahmed Farah, editor of the newspaper "Le Renouveau" and president of the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (Mouvement pour le renouveau démocratique et le développement, an opposition party), was arrested in Djibouti on the morning of 20 April 2003 and placed in solitary confinement at Gabode prison.

President Ismaïl Omar Guellah of Djibouti is supporting a national strategy to move the country, strategically located on the Horn of Africa at the mouth of the Red Sea, into the digital age by 2010 to promote development and reduce poverty.