World · Africa · 2 hrs ago
Libya carries out at least 31 executions, rights group says
Human Rights Watch says Libya has executed at least 31 people since late August, the first known executions in the country since 2010.
The executions were carried out by the east-based Libyan National Army, which controls eastern and southern Libya.
The group says the people were convicted in military trials, and that at least 50 other detainees at Gernada military prison face an imminent risk of execution.
Human Rights Watch says the trials were secret and that some confessions were allegedly obtained through torture.
It also says Libya’s Supreme Court has ruled that military courts should not try civilians.
Many of those executed were arrested during conflicts from 2014 to 2018 between the army and opposing armed groups.
Libya has been divided between rival administrations in the east and west since the 2011 uprising that toppled Moammar Gadhafi.
Human Rights Watch is calling on the army to halt executions and impose a moratorium on the death penalty.
Libya has executed at least 31 people since late August, Human Rights Watch said.
The executions were carried out by the self-styled Libyan National Army after military trials.
They are the first known executions in Libya since 2010, according to the rights group.
Human Rights Watch said at least 50 people held at Gernada military prison were at imminent risk of execution.
The group said trials were secret and relied on confessions allegedly extracted through torture.
- Who
- The self-styled Libyan National Army carried out the executions.
- What
- At least 31 people were executed after military trials.
- When
- Since late August; Human Rights Watch documented the executions as of Sept. 10.
- Where
- Libya. At least 50 others were held at Gernada military prison.
- Why
- The LNA said 10 people executed in late August had been convicted of murder and terrorism-related charges.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The LNA military prosecutor announced that a firing squad had executed 10 people convicted of murder and terrorism-related charges.
Human Rights Watch had documented at least 31 executions.
Amnesty International reported that military courts in eastern Libya had convicted hundreds of civilians in secret trials between 2018 and 2021.
Human Rights Watch said the executions were Libya’s first known since 2010 and warned that at least 50 people faced imminent risk.
- Executions documented
- At least 31
- At-risk prisoners
- At least 50 at Gernada military prison
- Executing force
- Self-styled Libyan National Army
- Last known executions before this
- 2010
- LNA announcement
- 10 people executed by firing squad in late August
What people are saying
The Libyan Arab Armed Forces are putting people to death after secret trials built on confessions allegedly extracted through torture, in courts that Libya’s own Supreme Court has said should not be trying civilians.
Every execution carried out under these conditions is an irreversible injustice.