INTRODUCTION
The month of January 2025 witnessed the continued perpetration of human rights violations and international crimes against civilians by security and military forces, as well as armed groups in both eastern and western Libya against civilians, reflecting a clear failure by the authorities to uphold their legal obligations to protect human rights and ensure accountability.
The field monitoring and documentation team recorded an increase in cases of arbitrary detention during the first month of 2025, with eighteen (18) cases documented in the cities of Misrata, Tripoli, Zawiya, Benghazi, and Sebha. These included eight protesters, three journalists, three Christian migrants, and one government employee.
The team also monitored the recovery of twenty-four (24) unidentified bodies, believed to be migrants, including one child, from the shores of Brega, Sirte, Tripoli, and Zawiya, signaling continued violations against migrants and the authorities’ failure to take necessary measures to protect their lives both on land and at sea.
Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) holds full legal responsibility for the arbitrary detentions recorded this month to the Libyan Stabilization Support Apparatus (SSA) affiliated with the Libyan Presidential Council, the General Administration of Security Operations (GASO), the Public Security and Security Positions Apparatus (PSSPA) of the Ministry of the Interior of the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Tariq Bin Ziyad Brigade of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), the Internal Security Agency (ISA) of the Libyan Government recognized by the House of Representatives (HoR), and The Joint Operations Force (JOF) affiliated with the Prime Minister of the GNU. These parties are responsible for either committing these violations, facilitating their occurrence, or failing to prevent them and pursue their perpetrators.
LCW affirms that the violations documented in this report may not fully capture the extent of all violations committed during the reporting period. They represent only those that the Field Monitoring and Documentation Team was able to document. The publication is restricted to violations whose disclosure does not pose a risk to the victims, survivors, or their families.
DETAILS
January 4
On January 4, LCW documented the arbitrary detention of a civilian man by armed men belonging to the Public Security and Security Positions Apparatus (PSSPA) of the Ministry of Interior of the Government of National Unity (GNU) in the Sowni Ben Adam area south of Tripoli. He was taken to the PSSPA headquarters, where he was subjected to continuous torture. After six hours, he was released without any legal procedure.
January 6
On January 6, LCW documented the arbitrary detention of activist Khaled Mohammed Al-Tabeeb (48 years old) by armed men belonging to the Stabilization Support Apparatus (SSA) of the Presidential Council at his home in Abu Salim, west of Tripoli, due to posts he had made criticizing the GNU on his personal Facebook page. He was released on January 9, three days after his detention without legal procedures.
On the same date, LCW documented the arbitrary detention of one (1) journalist by armed men belonging to the SSA of the Presidential Council near the Souq Al-Thalath in central Tripoli, due to his participation in protests against the GNU. He was taken to the Internal Security Agency (ISA) headquarters in Al-Daribi, central Tripoli, and was released on January 14, nine days after his arbitrary detention.
Also, on January 6, LCW monitored the discovery of one (1) decomposed unidentified body believed to be a migrant on the shore at the “Industrial Area 7 km” west of Sirte, which was recovered by the Sirte General Administration for Coastal Security (GACS) and transferred to Ibn Sina Hospital for legal procedures.
January 9
On January 9, LCW monitored the discovery of one (1) body of a Bangladeshi migrant on the Wadi Rizq beach in the Al-Burdi area east of Tobruk. The body was recovered after a boat, which was heading toward Europe, capsized. The body was recovered by local residents and the Criminal Investigation Department of Tobruk Security Directorate and buried without legal procedures.
January 10
On January 10, LCW documented the arbitrary detention of two (2) journalists and one (1) political activist by armed men from the Counter-Terrorism Department of the General Administration of Security Operations (GASO) of the Ministry of Interior of the GNU in the Al-Ruwisat neighborhood in Misrata. They were detained for coordinating peaceful protests against the GNU and were released on January 11, one day after their detention.
January 15
On January 15, LCW documented the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be a migrant on the shore of the Qarqarsh area west of Tripoli. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Tripoli branch, and transferred to the hospital for legal procedures.
January 16
On January 16, LCW monitored the arbitrary detention of seven civilians, including Misrata municipal council member Othman Al-Taher Issa (56 years old), in Misrata. They were detained by armed members of the Joint Operations Force (JOF) of the GNU president, for participating in protests against the GNU. The detainees were released after seven hours following the intervention of social mediators from Misrata.
January 18
On January 18, LCW documented the arbitrary detention of three (3) Egyptian Christian migrants by unknown armed men in Zawiya, who were taken to the Al-Nasr detention center (known as Osama Prison). They were released on January 29 after a distress call from their families in Egypt, with the GNU intervening to transfer them to safety and arrange for their deportation.
January 22
On January 22, LCW documented the arbitrary detention of Faisal Rajab Al-Shikhi upon entering the city of Benghazi by armed men from the Tariq Bin Ziyad Brigade (TBZ) of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), due to a video he posted five years ago on Facebook criticizing General Khalifa Haftar. He was taken to an unknown location and remains forcibly disappeared.
January 26
On January 26, LCW documented the arbitrary detention of Oqab Abdullah Ishaim by the Internal Security Agency (ISA) in Sebha, and his transfer by military aircraft to an unofficial prison run by the agency in the city of Benghazi. His arrest was related to his criticism of the family of Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the LAAF, during a social gathering held in Sebha. The gathering discussed the dismissal of the commander of the 128th Brigade and the dissolution of the brigade based on a decision by the commander of the LAAF.
On the same date, LCW monitored the discovery of one (1) unidentified body believed to be that of a migrant child near the Dila Port in Zawiya. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent, Zawiya branch, and transferred to the hospital for legal procedures.
January 29
Between January 27 and 29, LCW monitored the discovery of twenty (20) bodies of Bangladeshi migrants on the shore of the Al-Aqila area west of Brega, after their boat capsized while heading toward Europe. The bodies were recovered by the Brega Ambulance and Emergency Department and the Libyan Red Crescent, Ajdabiya branch, and transferred to the Martyr Mohamed Al-Moqrief Hospital for legal procedures.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) calls on the authorities in western and eastern Libya to ensure the respect and protection of the freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly. LCW stresses the necessity of halting all forms of harassment or suppression of individuals based on their expression of opinions or participation in peaceful protests, ensuring they are not subjected to violations.
- LCW demands the authorities in both eastern and western Libya to guarantee a safe environment for journalists, providing legal protection for journalists and media workers to enable them to perform their work without restrictions or threats, in accordance with international press freedom standards.
- LCW calls on the Libyan Attorney General to open independent and transparent investigations into all cases of gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture in both official and unofficial detention facilities, and to ensure accountability according to international standards of fair trials.
- LCW reiterates its call for Libyan authorities to take responsibility for saving the lives of migrants along migration routes in the desert and at sea, and to cooperate with international organisations to create effective search and rescue mechanisms to prevent migrant deaths, locate missing persons, and identify their bodies. LCW also demands an independent and transparent investigation into human trafficking networks and the accountability of those responsible according to international fair trial standards.
- LCW urges the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and active international stakeholders to increase pressure on all parties to respect human rights, pursue transitional justice, ensure truth-telling and redress for victims, and end the culture of impunity that perpetuates violations.
- LCW calls on the authorities in western and eastern Libya to comply with their international obligations and surrender individuals wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure their accountability according to international fair trial standards and to reduce the phenomenon of impunity.
- LCW reiterates its demand for the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to reverse its decision to halt investigations in Libya by the end of 2025, as this represents a threat to accountability efforts and the guarantee that perpetrators will not escape justice.
