• After four decades of dictatorship, Libya held its first national elections. Yet its transition into a law-respecting state has been bloody, with rights violations committed by all parties. Thousands of people are held in illegal detention facilities without any judicial process. Ill treatment, torture, and even killings in custody are a sad reality. Tens of thousands of displaced Libyans languish in camps around the country, many of whom have been unlawfully forcibly displaced from their homes. The transitional authorities, who ruled after Gadaffi’s fall, have failed to rein in the militias that de facto control the country, whose crimes have gone unpunished.
  • Libyan authorities should immediately cancel the impending trial of the former National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdeljalil in front of a military court.

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Libya

  • Dec 20, 2012
    Libyan authorities should immediately cancel the impending trial of the former National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdeljalil in front of a military court.
  • Dec 14, 2012
    The UK government’s compensation to a Libyan dissident over its complicity in his torture and rendition provides some relief but does not absolve it of the duty to investigate.
  • Dec 9, 2012
    Iraqi authorities should stay the execution of an imprisoned Libyan national, Adel Shalani, and provide information on his case.
  • Nov 20, 2012
    The use of schools and other education institutions for military purposes by armed forces and non-state armed groups during wartime endangers students and their education around the world, said the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack in a study released today.
  • Nov 16, 2012
    Libya should not be allowed to gradually fall off the U.S. radar, even if it’s no longer time to score political points. Policy makers and analysts should learn from the deadly attack and review how the U.S. government and others can help Libya build stability and security after 42 years of dictatorship.
  • Nov 16, 2012
    Libya’s new government, sworn in on November 14, 2012, should put the illegal detention of more than 8,000 people atop its agenda.
  • Nov 6, 2012

    Members of the United Nations Security Council should send a strong message to Libya to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Council should also press the recently appointed Libyan authorities on accountability for serious and ongoing crimes.The new ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, will brief the Security Council on her Libya investigation on November 7, 2012.

     

  • Oct 24, 2012
    Government and government-aligned military forces who entered Bani Walid on October 24, 2012, after a month-long operation should protect residents and property in the town. Many Libyans have considered Bani Walid a safe haven for supporters and former officials of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s former leader.
  • Oct 16, 2012

    New evidence collected by Human Rights Watch implicates Misrata-based militias in the apparent execution of dozens of detainees following the capture and death of Muammar Gaddafi one year ago.

  • Sep 12, 2012
    The killing of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US embassy personnel in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, should be a wake-up call to the Libyan government on the need to rein in armed groups that have been defying the law in Libya.