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 October 2024, amid the ongoing failure of Libyan authorities in both East and West to fulfill their obligations to respect and protect human rights.
The field monitoring team at LCW monitored twelve (12) cases of arbitrary detention during this month in the cities of Benghazi and Yefren, including one woman and eleven men, among them community figures and a journalist’s family.
The team also recorded the discovery of twenty-seven (27) bodies off the coasts of Tripoli, Zawiya, Tobruk, and Tajoura, including three bodies belonging to a woman and two children.
Additionally, in October, forty-six (46) decomposed bodies were exhumed from a mass grave in Tajoura, east of Tripoli, believed to date back to 2011.
LCW emphasizes that these figures represent only what has been monitored by the field monitoring team and do not necessarily reflect the full extent of the violations that may have occurred during the mentioned period.
Details:
October 1st:
The LCW monitored on October 1 the discovery of one (1) unidentified body on the beach in the Gergarish area of Tripoli, believed to be that of a migrant. The body was recovered by the Tripoli branch of the Libyan Red Crescent and transferred to the Ghot Al-Shaal Police Station for transportation to the hospital and completion of legal procedures
October 2nd:
On October 2, LCW monitored the arrest of Adel Radwan Masoud, a consultant at the Center for Judicial Expertise and Research, in downtown Benghazi. The arrest was carried out by armed members of the Tariq bin Ziyad Battalion (TBZ), affiliated with the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF). He was taken to an unknown location and remains incommunicado.
On the same date, LCW monitored the discovery of three (3) decomposed unidentified bodies near Al-Matred resort west of Zawiya city, believed to be migrants. The Zawiya branch of the Libyan Red Crescent recovered the bodies and transferred them to Zawiya Teaching Hospital for legal procedures.
Additionally, one (1) unidentified body was found on the beach in Ain Al-Ghazala area west of Tobruk city, believed to be of an Asian migrant. The Tobruk branch of the Libyan Red Crescent recovered the body and transferred it to Tobruk Medical Hospital for completion of legal procedures.
October 11th:
The LCW monitored on October 11 the discovery of one (1) unidentified body on Al-Fanar beach in Tajoura, east of Tripoli, believed to be that of a migrant. The Tripoli branch of the Libyan Red Crescent recovered the body and transferred it to the hospital for the completion of legal procedure
October 12th:
The LCW monitored on October 12, the discovery of one (1) unidentified body on the beach at Deila Fishing Port in Al-zawiya city, believed to be that of a migrant. The Zawiya branch of the Libyan Red Crescent recovered the body and transferred it to Zawiya Teaching Hospital for completion of legal procedures.
October 16th:
LCW monitored on October 16, the arbitrary detention of journalist Ikram Rajab’s parents – her 72-year-old father and 64-year-old mother – by the Internal Security Agency (ISA) in Benghazi. They were detained after visiting the agency’s headquarters in Sidi Hussein area to inquire about their daughter’s fate, who was already being held by the agency. On October 22nd, Ikram and her parents were released without any legal proceedings.
October 20th:
The LCW monitored the discovery of four (4) unidentified bodies in Zawiya city, found along the coastline near the Steam Power Station, Water Desalination Plant, Al-Matrad Resort, and another city resort. The bodies, believed to be those of migrants, were recovered by the Zawiya branch of the Libyan Red Crescent and transferred to the hospital for completion of legal procedures.
October 21st:
The LCW has monitored the discovery of one (1) decomposed unidentified body on the beach near the Zawiya Oil Refinery port. The body is believed to be that of a migrant. The Libyan Red Crescent’s Zawiya branch retrieved the body and transferred it to Zawiya Teaching Hospital for completion of legal procedures.
October 22nd:
The LCW monitored the discovery of one (1) decomposed unidentified body on the beach near the Zawiya Oil Refinery port. The body is believed to be that of a migrant. The Libyan Red Crescent’s Zawiya branch retrieved the body and transferred it to Zawiya Teaching Hospital for completion of legal procedures.
October 25th:
On October 25, LCW monitored the arbitrary, identity-based arrests of at least nine men in the city of Yefren, south of Tripoli, conducted by the Central Mountain Security Directorate under the Ministry of Interior of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the 130th Infantry Battalion of the Ministry of Defence under the GNU.
These arrests followed a demonstration organized by city residents protesting the presence of armed groups in Yefren. During the protest, security forces fired shots, injuring one protester. Among those detained were a municipal council member and two city elders, who were released after three days, while the remaining detainees are still being held.
October 30th:
LCW monitored the recovery of twelve bodies (12) of Egyptian migrants from the sea near the Kambut area, east of Tobruk. These migrants drowned after their boat, which had departed from the same area enroute to Europe, capsized. Out of the thirteen (13) individuals on board, only one migrant was rescued.
Additionally, between October 20 and October 30, LCW recorded the exhumation of forty-six (46) unidentified, decomposed bodies from a mass grave in the Bir al-Usta Milad area of Tajoura, east of Tripoli. The remains, believed to date back to 2011, were retrieved by the General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons (GASIMP) under the GNU. The bodies were then transferred to forensic and remains identification units for further legal procedures.
October 31st:
LCW monitored the death of a 3-year-old Sudanese child in a detention facility for Sudanese migrants in Sebha. The child died due to medical neglect and delayed response from international humanitarian organizations, which have faced restrictions imposed by Libyan authorities in both the east and west. This tragic incident marks the second child death in the same facility, following the death of another child last month.
Recommendations:
- The Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) demands that the GNU, the Libyan Presidential Council, and authorities in eastern Libya, including the House of Representatives (HoR) and the General Command of the LAAF Stop campaigns of arbitrary arrest and detention, Cease attacks on detainees’ families. and immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals and disclose the fate of those forcibly disappeared.
- The LCW calls on authorities in eastern and western Libya to respect and protect freedom of opinion, expression, and the right to peaceful assembly, and to ensure civilians are not prosecuted for participating in peaceful demonstrations or expressing their political views.
- The LCW renews its call for Libyan authorities to take responsibility for saving migrants’ lives along migration routes and at sea, to develop effective search and rescue mechanisms to stop the loss of migrant lives, and to locate and identify missing individuals. LCW also demands an independent and transparent investigation to uncover those responsible for migrant smuggling and ensure accountability for those involved.
- The LCW urges the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to pressure all parties in Libya to respect and protect human rights, work towards transitional justice and national reconciliation, and end the state of impunity.
- The LCW renews its calls for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to reconsider its decision to halt investigations in Libya by the end of 2025, to ensure perpetrators do not escape justice
