Tripoli, 14 July:
The Ministry of the Interior has announced that no individuals, organisations or civil society groups will in future be . . .[restrict]allowed to hold demonstrations without permission from the ministry.
In a statement issued on Friday, it said that it would hold anyone who violated the order responsible for any consequences that might occur as a result, such as injuries or damage to property.
The decision has been condemned by the Libyan Human Rights Observatory. It called it an attack on freedom, saying it denied Libyans their right of peaceful assembly. As such, it undermined one the most important gains of the revolution.
Observatory president Nasser Hawari said that the decision was a return to the Qaddafi era when demonstrating was a crime. He called the order unconstitutional and demanded the NTC reverse it, stating that it went against the principles and values of the 17 February Revolution.
He also urged human rights organisations to condemn it.
It is reported that strikes will also require ministry permission, but the Libya Herald has been unable to verify this.
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