States must ensure prompt surrender of suspects and full cooperation with the ICC’s Libya investigation
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, welcome the recent arrest of Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, known as “Al-Buti,” by German authorities at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on 16 July 2025 on the basis of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. His arrest marks a significant step forward in long-stalled efforts to achieve accountability for grave international crimes committed in Libya. We commend German authorities for taking swift and decisive action.
El Hishri is alleged to have been a senior official at Mitiga Prison in Tripoli. El Hishri is a member of the Special Deterrence Force for Combatting Terrorism and Organized Crime (“Al-Radaa”) under the Libyan Presidential Council, a powerful armed group that operates detention sites in western Libya, including Mitiga Prison. According to the ICC, El Hishri is accused of committing or overseeing crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence from February 2015 to, at least, early 2020.
The arrest of El Hishri is a crucial development, as it marks the first case in the ICC’s Libya Situation moving toward proceedings in The Hague. It sends an important message to survivors that justice is possible, even in the context of ongoing conflict and shifting power dynamics in Libya. However, justice requires follow-through. We urge Germany to ensure El Hishri’s prompt and successful surrender to the ICC, so that proceedings can advance without delay.
At the same time, we call on all States Parties to the Rome Statute to cooperate fully with the Court. El Hishri is the second suspected perpetrator of international crimes at Mitiga Prison to be arrested on European soil this year. In January, Italian authorities arrested Osama Elmasry Njeem, another Libyan national and high-ranking member of Al-Radaa, accused of similar crimes at Mitiga. However, instead of surrendering him to the ICC to face accountability, Italian authorities returned him to Libya, where he was welcomed by both officials and armed actors – reinforcing the prevailing climate of impunity. Proceedings are currently pending before the ICC to determine whether Italy violated its obligations in failing to surrender Elmasry to the Court. Failures of state cooperation with the ICC violate states’ obligations under international law and undermine accountability efforts for international crimes and victim communities’ pursuit of justice, as well as the legitimacy of the ICC itself.
We also call on all Libyan authorities to fully cooperate with the ICC, as required by UN Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011), including by promptly arresting and surrendering Elmasry and all others in Libya who are subject to ICC arrest warrants. Successive Libyan authorities, both in the country’s East and West, have consistently failed to cooperate with the ICC and have allowed perpetrators of international crimes to operate with impunity. Alongside the division of authority between the East and West, institutional fragmentation continues to obstruct judicial functions in Libya.
We hope that the arrest and eventual surrender of El Hishri will breathe new life into the Libya investigation at the ICC.
Survivors and affected communities – including Libyan nationals as well as migrants and refugees – continue to endure horrific abuses in official and unofficial detention sites across Libya. State actors, armed groups, and militias continue to commit arbitrary detention, torture, extortion and sexual violence with near total impunity. We urge the ICC Office of the Prosecutor to investigate and seek arrest warrants for crimes committed throughout Libya. Justice for these crimes requires holding those most responsible to account, including powerful Libyan and European actors who enable and sustain these systems of abuse.
We stand in solidarity with survivors and affected communities, and we will continue to press for meaningful accountability and effective cooperation with the ICC.
Signatories:
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
Global Initiative Against Impunity (GIAI)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL)
Libya Crimes Watch (LCW)
Mediterranea Saving Humans (Italy)
Mission Lifeline International e.V.
M.V. Louise Michel Project
Parliamentarians for Global Action
REDRESS
Refugees in Libya
SARAH-Seenotrettung gUG
Sea Punks e.V.
Sea-Watch e.V.
SOS Humanity e.V.
TRIAL International
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