No Result
View All Result
Friday, October 17, 2025
23 °c
Tripoli
24 ° Sat
24 ° Sun
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Libya

Thousands of human rights violations carried out by state-affiliated Libyan militias: UN report

bySami Zaptia
April 10, 2018
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Thousands of human rights violations carried out by state-affiliated Libyan militias: UN report

The latest UN report says that (UN).

By Sami Zaptia.

The latest UN report says that (UN).
The latest UN report says that thousands of human rights violations are being committed in Libya by state-affiliated militias (UN).

London, 10 April 2018:

A UN report published today states that thousands of incidents of human rights violations are carried out by state-affiliated militias in Libya. The report details the scale and horror of unlawful detention and human rights violations.

It states that armed groups in Libya, including those affiliated with the State, hold thousands of people in prolonged arbitrary and unlawful detention, and submit them to torture and other human rights violations and abuses. It says that arbitrary detention will also be detrimental to any Libyan stabilization, peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts.

The report says that the endemic human rights abuses in custody in Libya require urgent action by the Libyan authorities, with support from the international community.

RELATED POSTS

Tripoli government confirms three track security policy: supporting regular army, ending gangs and armed outlaw groups and maintaining stability

Kidnaper in 2019 of 14 Tunisian nationals convicted for 12 years’ imprisonment

The report is published just days after the bodies of the three kidnapped Shershary children were found buried in woods near their home town of Surman. They had been kidnapped for ransom by local criminal militias in broad daylight in December 2015.

The report said that “Men, women and children across Libya are arbitrarily detained or unlawfully deprived of their liberty based on their tribal or family links and perceived political affiliations,” the report by the UN Human Rights Office says.  “Victims have little or no recourse to judicial remedy or reparations, while members of armed groups enjoy total impunity.”

It continued that it ‘‘lays bare not only the appalling abuses and violations experienced by Libyans deprived of their liberty, but the sheer horror and arbitrariness of such detentions, both for the victims and their families,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. “These violations and abuses need to stop – and those responsible for such crimes should be held fully to account.”

Since renewed hostilities broke out in 2014, armed groups on all sides have rounded up suspected opponents, critics, activists, medical professionals, journalists and politicians, the report says. Hostage-taking for prisoner exchanges or ransom is also common. Those detained arbitrarily or unlawfully also include people held in relation to the 2011 armed conflict – many without charge, trial or sentence for over six years.

The report, published in cooperation with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), summarizes the main human rights concerns regarding detention in Libya since the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) on 17 December 2015 until 1 January 2018. The implementation of provisions in the LPA to address the situation of people detained arbitrarily for prolonged periods of time has stalled, it notes.

“Rather than reining in armed groups and integrating their members under State command and control structures, successive Libyan governments have increasingly relied on them for law enforcement, including arrests and detention; paid them salaries; and provided them with equipment and uniforms,” the report says. As a result, their power has grown unchecked and they have remained free of effective government oversight.

Some 6,500 people were estimated to be held in official prisons overseen by the Judicial Police of the Ministry of Justice, as of October 2017. There are no available statistics for facilities nominally under the Ministries of Interior and Defence, nor for those run directly by armed groups.

“These facilities are notorious for endemic torture and other human rights violations or abuses,” the report says. For example, the detention facility at Mitiga airbase in Tripoli holds an estimated 2,600 men, women and children, most without access to judicial authorities. In Kuweifiya prison, the largest detention facility in eastern Libya, some 1,800 people are believed to be held.

Armed groups routinely deny people any contact with the outside world when they are first detained. “Distraught families search for their detained family members, travel to known detention facilities, plead for the help of acquaintances with connections to armed groups, security or intelligence bodies, and exchange information with other families of detainees or missing persons,” the report highlights.

There have also been consistent allegations of deaths in custody. The bodies of hundreds of individuals taken and held by armed groups have been uncovered in streets, hospitals, and rubbish dumps, many with bound limbs and marks of torture and gunshot wounds.

“The widespread prolonged arbitrary and unlawful detention and endemic human rights abuses in custody in Libya require urgent action by the Libyan authorities, with support from the international community,” the report says.  Such action needs to provide redress to victims and their families, and to prevent the repetition of such crimes.

“As a first step, the State and non-State actors that effectively control territory and exercise government-like functions must release those detained arbitrarily or otherwise unlawfully deprived of their liberty. All those lawfully detained must be transferred to official prisons under effective and exclusive State control,” it says.

The report calls on the authorities to publicly and unequivocally condemn torture, ill-treatment and summary executions of those detained, and ensure accountability for such crimes.

“Failure to act will not only inflict additional suffering on thousands of detainees and their families and lead to further loss of life. It will also be detrimental to any stabilization, peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts,” it concludes.

 

https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/04/08/bodies-of-kidnapped-shershary-children-found-buried-in-woods/

Tags: detentionfeaturedhuman rights abuseskidnappingmilitiastortureUN human rights report 2018

Related Posts

LTT and GIA sign cooperation agreement on electronic connectivity
Libya

General Information Authority organizes workshop to prepare a national strategy for artificial intelligence in cooperation with ESCWA

October 16, 2025
US conducts 57 anti IS airstrikes in Sirte
Libya

AFRICOM Deputy Commander visits Libya, announces Libyan participation in ”Exercise Flintlock 2026”

October 16, 2025
‘‘U.S. experts’’ visit Sirte’s single pivot agricultural irrigation circles – 87 irrigation circles will be restarted in 2025
Libya

National Development Authority signs contract to develop Sirte’s Mahari Hotel and the Guest Palaces area in line with Libya’s 2030 Vision

October 13, 2025
Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter
Libya

Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter

October 13, 2025
No saviour for Libya except through constitutional based elections to end transitional periods: Grand Mufti
Libya

Grand Mufti raises objections to CBL’s supposedly Islamic – Sharia compliant certificates of deposit

October 12, 2025
Attorney General orders arrests at Jumhouria bank branch for embezzlement
Libya

Two detained in Aman bank Ajdabiya branch for LD 1.063 million fraud to trade in foreign currency

October 10, 2025
Next Post

Sebha 6th Infantry Brigade declares ceasefire and allegiance to Hafter LNA

Hafter illness officially denied despite ongoing media reports

libyaherald-Ads

Top Stories

  • Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter

    Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Emirates Airlines security delegation visits Tripoli to begin Mitiga Airport inspection tour

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • After its withdrawal from circulation of certain banknotes, CBL reveals that currency printed unofficially in Russia totalled to 6.5 billion dinars

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • National Oil Corporation discusses prospects for technical cooperation with America’s Halliburton

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Economic Conference on Diversifying Sources of Income held in Tripoli

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

CBL stats until end of September 2025: Libya has LD 8.4 billion surplus but US$ 6 billion deficit

Minister of Industry discusses with Military Industrialization Organisation and private sector implementation of localisation of oil industries‎

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.