UNITED NATIONS, Sep 04 (IPS) – The situation in Libya has become more dire with each passing year since the rise of the militant group al-Kaniyat. From 2013 to 2022, al-Kaniyat was responsible for a host of human rights violations, including mass killings, abductions, forced displacements, torture and sexual violence. The lack of accountability for these injustices has led to renewed conflict, which threatens to destabilise Libya years later.
In 2011, al-Kaniyat seized power in Tarhuna, a Libyan town with a population of around 150,000. Originally, al-Kaniyat was a locally organized militia that sided with the Government of National Accord (GNA), an interim government that oversaw Libyan affairs after 2015. However, al-Kaniyat would eventually side with the Libyan National Army (LNA).
A report by the Libyan American Alliance (LAA) details violations committed by the al-Kaniyat militia during the 2019-2020 conflict in Tripoli.
“As of October (2020), more than 20 mass graves had been excavated in Tarhuna, containing more than 200 bodies. However, many disappearances and executions were not properly recorded by the victims’ relatives due to the fear instilled by the militias among the people of Tarhuna. Therefore, it is impossible to know the real number of victims,” said Kamal Abubaker, head of Libya’s General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons (GASIMP).
Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimates that at least 338 people have been abducted or reported missing during the militia’s five-year siege. LAA also says there is evidence of civilians being buried alive, electrocuted and subjected to severe beatings.
Years later, GASIMP continued to find the remains of hundreds of victims, dumped in mass graves. Numerous bombs and landmines were also recorded in the Tarhuna-Tripoli region.
Abubaker said there were at least 17 other mass graves in the area, including women and children. It is estimated that there are more than 100 yet to be discovered. In addition, more than 350 families have reported their relatives missing.
Civilians who defied al-Kaniyat authorities were held in one of four detention camps. Living conditions in these facilities were appalling, and prisoners were routinely subjected to physical and psychological torture.
The HRW detailed these conditions in a 2022 report. Detainees were held in small, box-shaped cells that were about 4 feet (1.2 meters) high and 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide. Detainees were often hanged and whipped with plastic tubing on the soles of their feet, a practice known as falaka.
The perpetrators of these cases are still in the lengthy process of being identified and held accountable, largely due to Libya’s compromised criminal justice system.
“Libya’s criminal justice system remained weak with serious concerns about fair trials. Judges, prosecutors and lawyers continued to be at risk of intimidation and attacks by armed groups. Military courts continued to try civilians,” HRW said.
Furthermore, during al-Kaniyat’s occupation of Tarhuna, they controlled local police and militias, leading to significant obstruction of justice. Furthermore, Kaniyat’s militias controlled key passages into Tripoli, effectively isolating Tarhuna from access to vital resources and aid personnel.
Mohamed Al-Kosher, the mayor of Tarhuna, said: “Unfortunately, successive governments in Libya have not intervened in the crimes of this militia. If they had wanted to, they could have eliminated the Kaniyat. But each government turned a blind eye to the crimes, and in return the Kaniyat did what the government asked them to do.”
This convinces future perpetrators of human rights violations that they will go unpunished, and the cycle continues. The lack of a fair trial for the perpetrators of these violations has led to an increasingly unstable social climate in Tarhuna.
An August 2024 report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said: “The lack of truth and justice, including accountability for the numerous crimes committed, has in some cases led to renewed violence and repeated violations, further fueling discontent in Tarhuna and the surrounding area.”
Stephanie Koury, acting head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, added that “failing to address the root causes and drivers of conflict will only fuel toxic cycles of inter-communal violence and revenge.” Therefore, accelerating criminal trials for al-Kaniyat perpetrators is crucial to ensure Libya’s stability.
Legal proceedings are currently underway to identify and prosecute those involved in human rights violations in Tarhuna. According to OHCHR, numerous requests for arrest warrants were filed in November 2022.
Libyan Attorney General al-Siddiq al-Sur stated that judicial investigators had opened 280 criminal cases against al-Kaniyat members. However, only 10 of these cases had been referred to court, with no date given for when these trials would take place.
According to the OHCHR, the United Nations (UN) has called on the Libyan authorities to provide “effective reparations” for victims, including “legal assistance and mental health care and guarantees of non-repetition of crimes, drawn up in consultation with those directly affected”.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
