Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) has documented the arbitrary arrest of folk poet Faiez Ali Emazb, (54 years old), on Saturday, 21 February. Armed members affiliated with the Internal Security Agency (ISA) raided his home on the outskirts of Al Marj and transferred him to an unofficial detention facility at the ISA headquarters in Benghazi. Since then, contact with him has been cut off, and he remains forcibly disappeared as of the date of this publication.
Emazb’s arrest followed the circulation of a video on social media in which he criticised members of the Public Prosecution and security agencies affiliated with the authorities in eastern Libya. In the video, he denounced malicious complaints, unjust rulings, corruption, and the role of such practices in fuelling arbitrary arrests and enabling impunity.
LCW holds the Libyan government accredited by the House of Representatives (HoR) fully legally responsible for his safety and well-being, given that the ISA operates under its administrative and financial authority. LCW classifies this incident, in line with international standards, as arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, as he has been held outside the framework of the law and deprived of contact with his family or access to a competent judicial authority.
LCW calls on the authorities in eastern Libya to immediately disclose his fate and whereabouts, allow his family and lawyer to communicate with him without restriction, and ensure his immediate release unless lawful charges are brought against him and he is promptly brought before a competent court in proceedings that respect fair trial guarantees under Libyan law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
LCW further urges the authorities in eastern Libya to end all forms of arbitrary detention, cease the practice of enforced disappearance, close unofficial places of detention, and ensure that all detention facilities are subject to effective judicial oversight by the Public Prosecution.
LCW also calls on the Libyan Attorney General and the Attorney General of Benghazi to open an urgent, transparent, and independent investigation into the raid on his home and his unlawful detention, identify those responsible, and ensure accountability, in line with Libya’s international obligations.
Update
Faiez Ali Emazb was released on Sunday, 22 February, after spending one day in arbitrary detention by the Internal Security Agency (ISA).
