By Sami Zaptia.
London, 21 May 2021:
The Attorney General’s Media Office reported that the Attorney General, Sideeg Al-Sour, met on Wednesday with both the Minister of Interior and the Head of the Internal Security Agency in charge of coordination and unification of efforts to find solutions to some issues related to the facts of the investigations in the Office of the Attorney General.
The meeting comes within the framework of coordination and follow-up of the executive bodies to carry out their role in relation to the work of the Public Prosecution’s Office, the Media Office explained.
The issue of following up the facts of fraud in the state’s sovereign systems, the facts of fraud in the nationality files, and creating a mechanism to speed up the work assigned to the committee formed for that purpose, were addressed.
The meeting also dealt with the incidents of encroachment on the paths of streams, dams, forests, power plants and power transmission lines. The Ministry of Interior through its Agricultural Police and Electrical Police was urged to carry out its duties in accordance with existing legislation and to arrest violators and refer them to the Public Prosecution.
The need to expedite the completion of the minutes of evidence collection with the accused in criminal incidents and referring them to the Public Prosecution in accordance with what is stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Law was also discussed at the meeting.
Background
It will be recalled that Attorney General Al-Sour was appointed as full-time Attorney General only on 20 April this year – having held the post as Acting Attorney General since his controversial appointment by the parliament of the time, the General National Congress (GNC), in June 2014.
Need for justice system to be seen to be attempting to prosecute law-breakers
Since the 2011 February 17 Revolution that ousted the Qaddafi regime, the wheels of justice have been at a standstill due to contested legitimacy and weak state law-enforcement agencies. The widespread proliferation of weapons and the rise of powerful militias (state-recognized and non-state recognized) has meant the justice system has taken a back seat over the last decade.
It is hoped that the meeting between the Attorney General, the Interior Minister and Internal Security Head will hasten the wheels of Libyan justice with hundreds if not thousands of cases pending. There is a huge need for the perception that justice is being served out at a time of much suspected illegality, illegitimacy, and corruption. This would go some way to restoring the perception that the state is getting back on its feet.
Parliament appoints Sideeg Al-Sour as Attorney General | (libyaherald.com)
Lack of arrests for crimes in Libya not our fault says prosecution service | (libyaherald.com)
Attorney General resigns, replaced by Supreme Court adviser | (libyaherald.com)
Supreme Court appoints temporary Attorney General | (libyaherald.com)
Judicial High Council demands GNC respect separation of powers | (libyaherald.com)
