Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) and Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) have documented harrowing testimonies of torture and other ill-treatment taking place inside Al-Kweifya prison, east of Benghazi, under the control of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five former detainees have shared their distressing experiences of abuse and witness testimonies of the abuse of other inmates inside the Military Police wing of Al-Kweifya prison, in which flagrant human rights violations have been committed against those being held in the prison. These include enforced disappearance, lack of access to medical care, arbitrary detention, torture, rape, ill-treatment, and deprivation of access to family and legal counsels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the testimonies obtained, the Military Police wing of Al-Kweifya holds 700 inmates, including detainees awaiting military trials, prisoners who are serving their sentence and inmates facing arbitrary detention \u2013 those who have completed their prison sentence or who were never tried. The witnesses we spoke to noted that some detainees have been held arbitrarily for over eight years without trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before arriving at Al-Kweifya, accused individuals are often detained, interrogated, and tortured by different security agencies such as the Internal Security Apparatus or Tariq Ben Ziad Brigade. The victims detailed the arbitrary reasons for their arrest such as posting critical opinions to the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) and its head Khalifa Haftar on social media, enrolment of the detainee\u2019s family members in combat operations against the LAAF, and trade disputes with officials or other people of influence. Other detainees have also been arrested and detained based on profiling that they originate from a particular city, or on the unfounded suspicion that they are part of radical Islamist armed groups. Most of the detainees are held on trumped up charges that include belonging to banned groups and carrying out attacks against the Libyan State, resorting to counter terrorism laws, namely Article 14 and 15 of Law No. (3) of 2014 Related to Countering Terrorism. As a result, those accused are to stand trial before the Libyan military courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once inside Al-Kweifya, the witnesses state that severe beatings all over the body are routine practice to punish detainees, with one victim describing how a prisoner emerged from a beating with a broken leg. The Falaqa<\/em> method \u2013 a process of beating the soles of a person\u2019s bare feet with a stick \u2013 is regularly used to punish detainees, often collectively against inmates in a particular cell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Military Police wing consists of four wards with 41 cells in total. One of the four wards, known as \u2018the stack\u2019, is considered the worst regarding living conditions. Each cell in \u2018the stack\u2019, as with the other wards, is severely overcrowded measuring approximately 3.5 metres x 4 metres, occupied by 15 detainees. Given the lack of mattresses, prisoners are obliged to sleep on the floor. There is poor ventilation in the cells with a small window of about 50 x 20cm. There is a small toilet in each cell, with no warm water as the use of water heaters is banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 14 solitary confinement cells in Military Police Wing, measuring approximately 2 metres x 2 metres with no window, no bed or mattress, and no lighting. Sometimes up to four inmates are placed in cells intended for solitary confinement. The witnesses explained that because of this, tuberculosis and hepatitis are widespread and any prisoner who shows symptoms is kept in solitary confinement with no medical attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 2017 and 2022, there were at least 16 incidents of deaths in custody at Al-Kweifya military wing. Cases of kidney failure, severe bleeding due to haemorrhoids, and untreated cancer were all causes of inmate deaths reported by the witnesses. One witness stated that \u201cmy friend died [in there], they beat him brutally on his kidneys. But also because of the drinking water, it is salty and smells like sewage.\u201d The witnesses also stated that medicines delivered by NGOs and relatives of the inmates are often confiscated by the guards and prison directors, and are not administered to the ill. All witnesses interviewed by LFJL and LCW confirmed that anyone who spoke out against the conditions in detention were punished as an example to other detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The witnesses provided the names of those allegedly responsible for prison conditions and treatment of detainees, including Faraj Alzabo \u2013 Former Director of Al-Kweifya Military Prison and current Director of Prisons under the control of the LAAF and the Military Police Department. According to one of the testimonies, Alzabo subjected an elderly man believed to be over 70 years old, to severe torture by repeatedly striking him with a plastic pipe while hanging him from the ceiling. Assistant Commander Bashir al-Juhani, and officers Khalifa al-Khashbi and Hussein al-Darsi are also identified in allegedly participating in the abuse of detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prison director Juma Al-Muhashashah is identified by the witnesses for implementing a policy of systematic starvation on prisoners by imposing strict orders on guards to only provide limited amount of food for the detainees (two to three servings of food per five detainees) twice a day. Al-Muhashashah also ordered the prohibition of all foods containing sugars, albeit the expressed need by some diabetic inmates. A victim told us, \u201cJuma Al- Muhashashah destroyed our lives and wanted to kill us by starvation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n