KEY POINTS:
MOMBASA - Hundreds of Kenyan Muslims marched in Mombasa today demanding the release of Muslims they say are being held unfairly, and vowed to disrupt a world cross country championship if they were not freed.
Ahmed Farid, a leader of Kenya's Muslim community, said that the government has until March 23 to free 23 Muslims he said were being detained at police stations across the east African country, some of them because of a conflict in neighboring Somalia. He said some had not even been charged.
Kenya's Muslims have long complained of being marginalised by authorities, and feel they have been unfairly targeted, particularly since 1998 and 2002 attacks blamed on al Qaeda-linked militants.
"We are protesting against the arrest and torture of our Muslim brothers in connection with terrorism," Farid told some 1,500 demonstrators in the city of Mombasa.
"Failure to which, we will hold another major demonstration to disrupt the IAAF championships," he said at the peaceful demonstration, which brought businesses to a halt and caused huge traffic jams.
The International Association of Athletics Federations championships are scheduled to begin on March 24.
No police spokesman was immediately available for comment.
Rights groups and Muslim leaders say authorities had detained and illegally deported some Kenyan-Somalis suspected of being allies of Islamists, who had ruled much of southern Somalia before being ousted by Ethiopian-backed government forces in December.
In January, Kenya sent about 30 prisoners shackled hand-and-foot on a plane to Somalia after they were arrested near its border with the chaotic Horn of Africa nation.
"We want those being held in Somalia to be brought back into the country immediately, those in police custody in Kenya to be released without any further delay," Farid said.
- REUTERS
