Rights Watch alleges 31 executions in eastern Libya

Human Rights Watch has accused military authorities in eastern Libya of executing at least 31 people since late August, saying the alleged killings followed military trials that were “grossly unfair.”

The rights organisation also said at least 50 other people held at Gernada military prison face the risk of execution. It alleged that secret proceedings relied on confessions obtained through torture.

Calls to halt executions

Human Rights Watch called on the Libyan Arab Armed Forces to immediately stop any executions and urged authorities to establish a moratorium on the death penalty.

The organisation said the alleged executions would be the first known executions in Libya since 2010. The exact dates of the reported killings and the identities of those allegedly executed were not provided.

Detainees linked to past conflict

According to Human Rights Watch, many of those held at Gernada were arrested in Derna and Benghazi during the armed conflict between forces led by General Khalifa Haftar and rival armed groups from 2014 to 2018.

The Libyan Arab Armed Forces are led by Haftar and operate in the east of the country. Human Rights Watch did not provide further details in the supplied account about the alleged trials, the confessions or the individual cases involving those considered at risk.

Libya’s divided authorities

Libya has faced violence and instability since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country is described as being divided between an internationally recognised government based in Tripoli in the west and a rival administration in the east backed by Haftar.

The allegations concerning the executions, the trials and the detainees at risk were made by Human Rights Watch.