{"id":25682,"date":"2025-03-05T14:36:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T12:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lcw.ngo\/en\/?p=25682"},"modified":"2025-03-05T14:36:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T12:36:36","slug":"report-human-rights-violations-in-libya-during-february-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lcw.ngo\/en\/blog\/report-human-rights-violations-in-libya-during-february-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN LIBYA DURING FEBRUARY 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

February witnessed the continued perpetration of grave violations and international crimes by security and military authorities in both eastern and western Libya against civilians. This occurred amid the authorities\u2019 clear failure to uphold their legal obligations to protect human rights and ensure accountability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Libya Crimes Watch\u2019s (LCW) field monitoring and documentation team monitored the death of one (1) man after being arbitrarily detained in Qarnada Prison, south of Shahat, and the killing of one (1) man who was shot in the city of Al Zawiya. The field team also documented the arbitrary arrest of four (4) civilians, including a migrant and an election candidate, in Tripoli and Misrata, as well as the abduction of one (1) man in Tripoli. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the field team monitored the recovery of eighty-three (83) bodies belonging to migrants found in mass graves in Kufra and Jalu, along with four (4) unidentified bodies suspected to be migrants who died under unclear circumstances in Jalu, Kufra, and Al Zawiya. Thirteen (13) more unidentified bodies, believed to be migrants, were retrieved from the shores of Al Zawiya and Brega. These findings underscore the ongoing violations against migrants and the authorities\u2019 persistent failure to take necessary measures to protect their lives on land and at sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW holds fully legal for the documented violations this month the General Administration of Security Operations (GASO) \u2013 Benghazi branch, affiliated with the Libyan government accredited by the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR); the Military Police and Prisons Administration under the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF); the Rescue Police Department of the Misrata Security Directorate (MSD) under the Ministry of Interior of the Government of National Unity (GNU); The Internal Security Agency (ISA) under the Libyan Presidential council, and the 55th Infantry Battalion under the Ministry of Defence of the GNU. These entities either directly committed the violations, facilitated their occurrence, or failed to prevent them and hold the perpetrators accountable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DETAILS<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 2<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW monitored the discovery of two (2) unidentified bodies, believed to be migrants, in a remote desert area on the outskirts of Kufra, eastern Libya, on February 2. These bodies were recovered by the Kufra Branch of the Ambulance and Emergency Department<\/a> and transported to the hospital for legal proceedings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 3<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW monitored the discovery of one (1) unidentified decomposed body, believed to be a migrant, on February 3. In a remote desert area in the Lahrash region of Jalu. Eastern Libya. The body was recovered by the Jalu branch of the Libyan Red Crecent and transported to the hospital for legal proceedings.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 5<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW monitored the discovery of three (3) bodies of Bangladeshi migrants1<\/sup> on the shoreline of Al-Agilah west of Brega, eastern Libya, on February 5. the migrants had drowned after their boat capsized while attempting to reach Europe. The bodies were recovered by the Brega branch of the Ambulance and Emergency Department and transferred to Al-Shaheed Muhammad Al-Maghrief Hospital in Ajdabiya for legal procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 6<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW monitored the discovery of ten (10) unidentified bodies of migrants on the shore of the Dila Fishing Port in Zawiya, western Libya, on February 6. The bodies were retrieved by the Libyan Red Crescent \u2013 Zawiya branch after their boat, in route to Europe, sank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day, LCW monitored the killing of Shihab Mahmoud Al-Ganga (18 years old), who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Al-Daman Street in central Al Zawiya. To date, the city’s security authorities have not announced any investigation into the incident or efforts to hold the perpetrators accountable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, on February 6, LCW monitored the discovery of a mass grave containing nineteen (19) unidentified bodies of migrants in the Ijkhara area of Jalu, eastern Libya. The bodies were recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent Jalu branch and transferred to the hospital for legal procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 9<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW monitored the arbitrary detention of a man2<\/sup> (1) following his candidacy for the Aziziya Municipal Council elections south of Tripoli, On February 9. The detention was carried out by armed members of the 55th Infantry Battalion under the Ministry of Defence of the GNU in an attempt to pressure him into withdrawing his candidacy. He was taken to an undisclosed location before being released the following day. This incident took place within a broader campaign of intimidation targeting candidates in the Aziziya municipal elections, aimed at forcing them to withdraw. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 10<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW documented the arbitrary detention and torture of Adnan Mohammed Al-Sadiq<\/a> (34 years old), a Pakistani migrant, by members affiliated with the Rescue Police Department of the Misrata Security Directorate (MSD), western Libya, on February 10. The detention was carried out to extort his family into paying a ransom for his release. On February 14, a leaked video circulated on social media, showing the victim being tortured by three members of the department. He was released on February 15, one day after the video surfaced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 12<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW monitored the abduction of a man3<\/sup> (1) by unidentified armed men, on February 12. His abduction was linked to his online advocacy, where he encouraged people to register and participate in the Aziziya Municipal Council elections. He was taken to an undisclosed location before being released later that same day following social mediation efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 17<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between February 6 and 17, LCW monitored the discovery of sixty-four (64) unidentified bodies of migrants in mass graves near a human trafficking warehouse in Kufra, eastern Libya. The site was run by a network engaged in migrant smuggling and human trafficking. The bodies were retrieved by the Ambulance and Emergency Department<\/a> Kufra branch and later reburied following legal procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same date, LCW monitored the discovery of one (1) unidentified body, believed to belong to a migrant, in a remote area near Al-Harsha, west of Al Zawiya. The body was recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent Zawiya branch and transferred to the hospital for legal procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, on February 17, LCW monitored the arbitrary detention of a man4<\/sup> (1) by the Internal Security Agency (ISA) under the Libyan Presidential Council. He was taken to the ISA\u2019s headquarters in Tripoli, western Libya, on charges of publishing videos deemed as “insulting the national flag”. The ISA later released a video of the victim<\/a> making a coerced confession, following its long-standing practice of using coerced statements to degrade detainees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 19<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW documented the death of Khamis Mohammed Al-Aqab<\/a> (54 years old) after he was transferred to the hospital from his detention in Qarnada Prison, south of Shahat, on February 19. He had been arbitrarily detained on November 6 from his home in Al-Marj by the GASO \u2013 Benghazi branch, affiliated with the Libyan government accredited by the HoR, under accusations of “practicing witchcraft and sorcery”5<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His body bore signs of torture, including wounds and bruises. Following his death in the hospital, members of the Military Police and Prisons Administration under the LAAF seized the forensic report detailing the cause of death, depriving his family of any official explanation regarding the circumstances of his death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 25<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCW monitored the arbitrary arrest of another man6<\/sup> (1) by the ISA under the Presidential Council, on February 25. He was taken to the ISA\u2019s headquarters in Tripoli on charges of publishing videos considered “insulting to the national flag”. The ISA later published a video of him<\/a> making a coerced confession, consistent with its ongoing practice of humiliating detainees.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDATIONS<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n