west ignores state violence in rush to cosy up to Muammar Gaddafi's regime since relations thawed
Human rights observance in Libya is failing to keep pace with the country's improved international image, with abuses rife and state security forces enjoying impunity for their actions, Amnesty International reports today.
Britain, the US and other countries are accused of turning a blind eye to "gross" domestic excesses committed by Muammar Gaddafi's regime, as they rush to co-operate over counter-terrorism and invest in the oil-rich north African country.
Floggings used as punishment for adultery, indefinite detentions and abuses of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as the legacy of unresolved cases of enforced disappearances of dissidents are documented in a 135-page report – the product of Amnesty's first visit to Libya in five years during which the human rights organisation enjoyed partial co-operation from the authorities.
Amnesty singles out Libya's internal security agency, which has unchecked powers to detain and interrogate individuals suspected of dissent or of terrorism-related activities. Detainees can be held incommunicado for long periods, tortured and denied access to lawyers. Hundreds languish in jails after serving their sentences or having been cleared by the courts. The death penalty is still used – and disproportionately against foreigners.
The report highlights the failure to adequately address the notorious Abu Salim prison killings of 1996 in which up to 1,200 detainees are believed to have been extrajudicially executed following a riot. A promised investigation has not materialised and families of victims have been offered compensation on condition they do not resort to the courts.
The cases of dissidents Jabalah Matar, Mansour al-Kikhiya and others, who disappeared in Egypt, remain unresolved. There have been no efforts to investigate the "physical liquidation" of opponents of the regime during the 1980s.
Amnesty's mission, like a recent one by Human Rights Watch, was facilitated by the Gaddafi Development Foundation, run by the leader's reformist son and possible heir, Saif al-Islam. But planned prison visits were curtailed and researchers were unable to conduct activities independent of the GDF programme such as meet families of victims of human rights abuses.
Libya has seen "tangible but modest" improvements in freedom of expression but state control is still tight, says Amnesty.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from elsewhere in Africa attempting to seek sanctuary in Italy and the EU face arrest, indefinite detention, and abuse, the report finds. Libya is not a signatory to the 1951 UN convention on refugees and this month, the authorities ordered the UNHCR to leave.
"The human rights situation in Libya remains dire," the report concludes. "Officials responsible for gross human rights violations remain above the law and enjoy total impunity. On the other hand, thousands of individuals are completely outside the protection of the law and continue to suffer in silence and isolation, seeing little hope in the 'Libya of tomorrow', a slogan frequently repeated by Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi."
Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, said: "If Libya is to have any international credibility, the authorities must ensure that no one is above the law and that everyone, including the most vulnerable and marginalised, is protected by the law.
"The repression of dissent must end. Libya's international partners cannot ignore Libya's dire human rights record at the expense of their national interests."
Human rights observance in Libya is failing to keep pace with the country's improved international image, with abuses rife and state security forces enjoying impunity for their actions, Amnesty International reports today.
Britain, the US and other countries are accused of turning a blind eye to "gross" domestic excesses committed by Muammar Gaddafi's regime, as they rush to co-operate over counter-terrorism and invest in the oil-rich north African country.
Floggings used as punishment for adultery, indefinite detentions and abuses of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as the legacy of unresolved cases of enforced disappearances of dissidents are documented in a 135-page report – the product of Amnesty's first visit to Libya in five years during which the human rights organisation enjoyed partial co-operation from the authorities.
Amnesty singles out Libya's internal security agency, which has unchecked powers to detain and interrogate individuals suspected of dissent or of terrorism-related activities. Detainees can be held incommunicado for long periods, tortured and denied access to lawyers. Hundreds languish in jails after serving their sentences or having been cleared by the courts. The death penalty is still used – and disproportionately against foreigners.
The report highlights the failure to adequately address the notorious Abu Salim prison killings of 1996 in which up to 1,200 detainees are believed to have been extrajudicially executed following a riot. A promised investigation has not materialised and families of victims have been offered compensation on condition they do not resort to the courts.
The cases of dissidents Jabalah Matar, Mansour al-Kikhiya and others, who disappeared in Egypt, remain unresolved. There have been no efforts to investigate the "physical liquidation" of opponents of the regime during the 1980s.
Amnesty's mission, like a recent one by Human Rights Watch, was facilitated by the Gaddafi Development Foundation, run by the leader's reformist son and possible heir, Saif al-Islam. But planned prison visits were curtailed and researchers were unable to conduct activities independent of the GDF programme such as meet families of victims of human rights abuses.
Libya has seen "tangible but modest" improvements in freedom of expression but state control is still tight, says Amnesty.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from elsewhere in Africa attempting to seek sanctuary in Italy and the EU face arrest, indefinite detention, and abuse, the report finds. Libya is not a signatory to the 1951 UN convention on refugees and this month, the authorities ordered the UNHCR to leave.
"The human rights situation in Libya remains dire," the report concludes. "Officials responsible for gross human rights violations remain above the law and enjoy total impunity. On the other hand, thousands of individuals are completely outside the protection of the law and continue to suffer in silence and isolation, seeing little hope in the 'Libya of tomorrow', a slogan frequently repeated by Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi."
Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, said: "If Libya is to have any international credibility, the authorities must ensure that no one is above the law and that everyone, including the most vulnerable and marginalised, is protected by the law.
"The repression of dissent must end. Libya's international partners cannot ignore Libya's dire human rights record at the expense of their national interests."
Ian Black, Middle East editor guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 June 2010
.Document - Libya: Four arrested amid fears of Amazigh culture crackdown
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT
AI Index: MDE 19/001/2011
6 January 2011
Libya: Four arrested amid fears of Amazigh culture crackdown
Amnesty International today called on the Libyan authorities to immediately clarify the whereabouts and legal status of four men – two Libyan and two Moroccan nationals – held in Libya seemingly in connection with Amazigh cultural or academic activities. The organization expressed concerns that the four men might be held solely on account of their perceived interest in Amazigh language and culture, in which case they would be prisoners of conscience.
Two Libyan twin brothers, Mazigh and Maghris Bouzahar, were arrested on 16 December 2010 from their home in Tripoli allegedly by members of the External Security Agency, an intelligence body. Their relative, residing in Canada, told Amnesty International that they were taken for questioning in relation to a meeting one of the brothers held with an Italian student visiting Libya. They have been held ever since.
The Italian student was detained for about three weeks before being released and allowed to leave Libya on 24 December. According to Libyan Amazigh cultural rights activists in exile, he was interested in Amagizh language and culture in Libya.
Several days after the arrests, members of the External Security Agency returned to the home of the Bouzahar brothers and confiscated a number of items, including all books related to Amaghiz culture and a computer.
A few days after the arrest of the Bouzahar brothers, news emerged in Morocco that two Moroccan nationals, Al-Mahfouz Asmhari and Hassan Ramou, had been arrested in Libya. The two are researchers at the Royal Moroccan Institute for Amazigh Culture, respectively, in the Centre of Historical and Environmental Studies and the Centre of Sociological and Anthropological Studies. They had travelled to Tunisia in the framework of their academic research, and are believed to have visited Amazigh artifacts. They are reported to have travelled to Libya from Tunisia on 14 December. They reportedly spent the next four days in Nalut, in the Western part of Libya in the Nafusa Mountains, famous for its Amazigh granary. Their families in Morocco lost contact with them since 19 December, the day before they were meant to travel back to Tunisia. They are believed to have been arrested by members of the External Security Agency and to be held at an undisclosed location.
The four men continue to be held by security agencies reportedly without charge in breach of Article 26 of the Libyan Code of Criminal Procedure which sets the limit of 48 hours for law enforcement officers to refer suspects to the Department of Public Prosecutions unless accused of certain offences, including those “against the state”, in which case suspects can be remanded in custody for up to seven days. Article 26 further stipulates that the Department of Public Prosecutions must question the accused within 24 hours and then issue an order for release or detention. Further, the four are reported not to have access to lawyers in contravention to Law No. 47 of 1975 on prisons. On numerous occasions, Amnesty International has raised concerns that security agencies in Libya continue to wield extensive and unchecked powers and breach Libyan legislation as well as human rights law and standards with total impunity, including provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) relating to arbitrary arrest and detention and judicial safeguards.
Amnesty International calls on the Libyan authorities, at the very least, to grant the four men immediate and unimpeded access to their lawyers and families. The two Moroccan nationals should also be granted access to their consular representatives.
Amnesty International is also concerned that the arrests of the four men might be a result of the Libyan authorities’ intolerance to activities perceived as promoting the Amazigh cultural or linguistic heritage. As a state party to the ICCPR, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Libya is under the obligation to guarantee that all people are protected from discrimination on any grounds including ethnic, linguistic or cultural ones and must have the right to take part in cultural life. Should the four men be detained on account of their peaceful academic, linguistic or cultural activities, Amnesty International would consider them to be prisoners of conscience and call for their immediate and unconditional release.
Background
The Libyan authorities claimed in their submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2003 that all Libyans are of a “common racial origin, all profess Islam and speak Arabic”. The state report added that: “The fact that all Libyan citizens share a common origin, religion and language has undoubtedly been a determining factor in the absence of racial discrimination in the country”. Groups based abroad, such as the Libyan Working Group, the Tabu Front for the Salvation of Libya, and the World Amazigh Congress disagree with this assessment and argue that the Libyan Nationality Code is inherently discriminatory in defining citizenship as “Arab”. Such groups also complain that the Amazigh language and culture is not recognized and that obstacles prevent the Amazigh community from preserving their language and culture. For example, Law No. 24 of 1369 prohibits the usage of languages other than Arabic in publications; official documents; public spaces; and private enterprises. Additionally, Article 3 of Law No. 24 prohibits the use of “non-Arab, non-Muslim names” as determined by the General People’s Committee [ equivalent to prime minister’s office]. The law provides no opportunity for parents to appeal against the decision of the General People’s Committee.
Libyan authorities also seem to show little tolerance towards Amazigh cultural rights activists, even those based abroad. In November 2009, the Libyan authorities deported Khaled Zerari, deputy head of the Word Amazigh Congress from Libya upon his arrival from Morocco to attend the funeral of a known Amazigh figure in Libya. After questioning him for several hours at the airport, Libyan law enforcement officials forced him to board a flight to Rome, from where he returned to Morocco. No official reason for the ban was provided, but it is believed that he was prevented from entering Libya due to his activism for the rights of the Amazigh in North Africa.
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