Introduction:
The Monitoring and Documentation Department of the Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) continued to monitor the human rights situation and document violations and international crimes committed against civilians throughout Libya during April 2024. Among the most prominent violations recorded during this month was the mysterious death of a political activist from Benghazi inside one of the prisons affiliated with the Libyan Arab Armed Forces. Additionally, we recorded the deaths of two prisoners due to medical neglect in the Kuwayfiyah and Qurnadah prisons in eastern Libya. Arbitrary arrests and kidnappings also continued, with eight (8) cases recorded in the cities of Sabha, Benghazi, and Ajdabiya. The haemorrhage of migrants’ lives also continued, as four bodies belonging to migrants were found on beaches near Derna and Al-Khums.
The LCW emphasizes that these numbers represent what has been observed by the field monitoring team and do not necessarily reflect the total magnitude of violations that may have occurred during the mentioned period.
Details:
April 3rd:
The LCW monitored the abduction of activist Abdelaziz Jamal Boukmar, a 27-year-old, from his home in Benghazi. He was taken by armed men belonging to the Security Directorate Support Unit affiliated with the Ministry of Interior of the Libyan government endorsed by the parliament. They were riding in dark-tinted white Toyota Hilux vehicles and took him to an unknown location before his family lost contact with him.
According to his family’s testimony, Boukmar was abducted due to a post he shared on his personal Facebook account criticizing the corruption of Faraj Qaim, the Ministry of Interior’s Undersecretary in the government endorsed by the House of Representatives.
He was released on April 7th without any official charges being filed against him.
April 4th:
The LCW monitored on April 4th the killing of the child Mohammed Naji Al-Ghwail, 13 years old, after being shot twice during armed clashes between gangs near his home in the Ouled Sakir area on the outskirts of the city of Zawiya. The LCW also monitors the retrieval of two (2) unidentified human remains near the Ain Mara area, 35 kilometres southwest of the city of Derna, by the Red Crescent team of the Quba branch.
April 7th:
The LCW monitored the abduction of Mabrouk Saeed Al-Maghribi, 58 years old, from his home in Ajdabiya on the dawn of April 7th by four armed elements affiliated with the Ajdabiya Internal Security Apparatus. He was detained at an unknown location before being released on April 10th through social mediation. Al-Maghribi had previously been arrested in September 2023 on charges related to his involvement in a case concerning victims of the Chad war. He is a former opposition figure who returned from the United States in February 2011.
April 11th:
The LCW monitor the arbitrary arrest of five (5) men in the city of Sabha by the Internal Security Apparatus on Thursday, April 11th, for raising slogans supportive of the Gaddafi regime in the city’s streets during Eid al-Fitr celebrations. They were transferred to an unknown location. According to the family testimony of one of the detainees, he has not been referred to the prosecution as of the publication of this report, and his whereabouts remain unknown to his family, despite receiving information about his transfer to Qurnadah prison in eastern Libya, which they were unable to confirm.
The LCW also recorded on April 11th the retrieval of two (2) decomposed unidentified bodies found on the shore near the city of Al-Khums. It is believed that they belonged to migrants who were washed ashore. The emergency and ambulance service, along with the Al-Khums Security Directorate, transported the bodies to Al-Khums Educational Hospital.
April 19th:
The LCW monitored the death of political activist Siraj Fakhruddin Dagman, 35 years old, under mysterious circumstances on Friday, April 19th, in an unofficial prison located within the headquarters of the General Command of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces in Rajma, southeast of Benghazi. His family was notified by the city’s security authorities. Dagman was the director of the Benghazi branch of the Libya Center for Strategic and Future Studies. He had been arbitrarily detained in the internal security apparatus prison since October 1, 2023, along with four other activists: Fathi Al-Baajjah, Tariq Al-Bishari, Nasser Al-Daisi, and Salem Al-Araibi. They were arrested based on reports against them regarding their activities and holding meetings discussing the political situation and elections in Libya. Recently, his family was informed of their transfer to an Al-Rajma prison without being referred to the judiciary.
Also on April 19th, The LCW monitored the arrest of Sheikh Ali Msbah Abusbeha, 77 years old, from his home in Al-Qirdah Al-Shati district in Sabha by the Internal Security Apparatus on Friday morning, April 19th. He was then taken to Tamanhint Airbase north of Sabha and transported by military aircraft to Benghazi, according to eyewitnesses. Sheikh Abusbeha, a prominent social figure in southern Libya, was arrested hours after posting a post on his personal Facebook account calling for Libyan presidential elections and supporting the candidacy of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.
April 20th:
The LCW monitored the death of the detainee Khalid Muftah Qatisha, 57 years old, in Qurnadah Military Prison following his intentional deprivation of medical treatment and care by the prison administration and the military police under the Libyan Arab Armed Forces. The victim was transferred to Benghazi Medical Center after his health deteriorated before passing away at the hospital.
April 21st:
The LCW monitored the death of the detainee in Kuwayfiyah Military Prison, Sadiq Mazkour Al-Farjani, 65 years old, due to illness and intentional medical neglect by the prison administration and the military police managing the prison. Al-Farjani had been detained since 2017 without fair trial access and had previously lost vision in one eye inside the prison due to intentional medical neglect.
April 30th:
The LCW monitors the killing of the child Ahmed Yousef Ahmed, 8 years old, after being shot by an unknown source while at his home in the city of Sabha in southern Libya.
Recommendations:
• The Libya Crimes Watch condemns the ongoing campaigns of kidnapping, enforced disappearance, and arbitrary detention. It calls on the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Libyan government endorsed by the House of Representatives, and the authorities in eastern Libya to fully assume their responsibilities for these violations and commit to the principles of international humanitarian law and human rights standards. The LCW demands the cessation of kidnapping and arbitrary detention campaigns, the disclosure of the fate of forcibly detained and disappeared individuals, and their unconditional release.
• The LCW calls for an independent and impartial investigation into ongoing human rights violations, including the death of political activist Siraj Dagman inside the prison, and holding those responsible accountable according to the law to curb the impunity phenomenon and ensure justice for the victims.
• The LCW renews its calls to the authorities in Libya to fully assume responsibility for saving the lives of migrants who traverse land and sea migration routes. It emphasizes the need to establish effective mechanisms for search and rescue operations to halt the loss of lives among migrants, ensure the identification of missing persons, and determine their identities.
