Libya: 15 years after uprising against Gaddafi’s rule impunity reigns fueling ongoing abuses
Fifteen years after Libyans revolted against the repressive rule of Muammar al-Gaddafi, systemic impunity fuels crimes under international law and serious human rights violations by militias and armed groups while justice and reparations for survivors and relatives of victims remain elusive, Amnesty International said today.Instead of being brought to justice in fair proceedings, those suspected of involvement in murder, torture, enforced disappearances and other crimes under international law and human rights violations have been killed or remain at large. They include fugitives from the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite the welcome step taken by the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) in May 2025 to accept the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to alleged crimes committed in Libya from 2011 to 2027.“For 15 years, successive Libyan authorities have failed to dismantle the networks of abuse that fuel ongoing violations and have instead provided funding and legitimacy to notorious militias and integrated their members into state institutions without proper vetting. By allowing those suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law to evade accountability the authorities have betrayed survivors and reinforced a cycle of violence and lawlessness that shows no sign of ending,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt and Libya Researcher at Amnesty International.“The Government of National Unity’s acceptance of the ICC’s jurisdiction rings hollow as long as it is not matched by concrete action. The killing of Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi earlier this month underscores the inability and unwillingness of the Libyan justice system to ensure accountability and irreversibly robs survivors and relatives of victims of their right to truth and justice. Libyan authorities must meaningfully cooperate with the ICC, surrender individuals wanted for crimes under international law, and ensure that all those suspected of criminal responsibility are brought to justice in fair trials.”Since the referral of the situation in Libya to the ICC by the UN Security Council in February 2011, only one suspect out of 14 was handed to the Court. On 1 December 2025, the German authorities surrendered Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri (also known as “Al-Buti”), senior and long-term member of the notorious Tripoli-based militia Deterrence Apparatus for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime (DACTO), also known as al-Radaa, to the ICC. The ICC issued a warrant for his arrest for crimes against humanity and war crimes, in connection with incidents at Mitiga Prison in Tripoli under the control of DACTO.The GNU, as well as the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), the de facto authorities in control of eastern and southern Libya, persist in their refusal to arrest and/or surrender Libyan nationals against whom arrest warrants have been issued by the ICC on charges of committing crimes against humanity and/or war crimes. Eight Libyan nationals under ICC arrest warrants remain at large.Amnesty International wrote to the Libyan Public Prosecutor on 2 February 2026 to inquire about the whereabouts and legal proceedings against two individuals who had been arrested in Libya, but whose current status remains unclear amid concerns that they are shielded from accountability. They are Osama AlMasri Njeem, the former head of the Department of Operations and Judicial Security (DOJS) and long-term senior member of DACTO, and Abdelbari Ayyad Ramadan al-Shaqaqi, a senior member of al-Kaniat armed group. No response had been received at the time of writing.Killings instead of justiceLibya has seen a pattern of killings of individuals suspected of involvement in human rights violations, denying victims the truth and justice they deserve.Most recently, on 3 February, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi was murdered in unknown circumstances by unidentified attackers. In 2011, the ICC Prosecutor charged him with committing crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution. In 2017, a Libyan court sentenced al-Gaddafi to death in absentia in a trial that did not meet international standards. In July 2017, an armed group in the western city of Zintan, which had held him since 2011, had announced his release in an amnesty.Another ICC suspect who was murdered in unknown circumstances is Mahmoud al-Werfalli, former Field Commander of the Special Forces Brigade (Al-Saiqa) affiliated to the LAAF. In 2017, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him for war crimes. In 2021, Mahmoud al-Werfalli was shot dead in Benghazi, the second biggest city in Libya and under the de facto authority of LAAF.Another notorious militia commander, Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, known as “Gheniwa” was killed in unclear circumstances in Tripoli on 12 May 2025, triggering armed clashes between rival militias in Tripoli. Amnesty International documented crimes under international law and serious human rights violations against Libyans, as well as refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, committed by militias under his command including the Central Security Force/ Abu Salim militia and the Stability Support Authority (SSA). Documented crimes include arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and unlawful killings. Amnesty International also documented how SSA militia members carried out interceptions of refugees and migrants at sea that have been marred by reports of violence, leading to loss of life at sea. Failure to surrender ICC suspectsLibya’s justice system remains unwilling and unable to effectively investigate crimes committed by powerful militias and armed groups. Proceedings in Libya are also marred by severe violations of fair trial rights including the right to adequate defence, to not self-incriminate and to be protected from torture, amid continuing trials of civilians by military courts. The Public Prosecutor himself publicly described in April 2025 the bodies responsible for pursuing cases, gathering and preserving evidence as “almost ineffective” due to the involvement of influential parties affiliated with security bodies or armed groups.Despite this, the Libyan authorities refuse to surrender those under ICC arrest warrants to the Court. In November 2025, the Public Prosecutor ordered the detention of Osama AlMasri Njeem in connection with incidents of torture and other cruel and degrading treatment of detainees at Mitiga Prison, and a death in custody. No further information is publicly available on his place of detention or status of legal proceedings, amid serious concerns about whether he would face justice, given the continued power wielded in Tripoli by DACTO militia, of which he was a long-term senior member. Italian authorities had arrested him in January 2025 pursuant to the ICC warrant of arrest, but flew him back to Libya the same month.On 13 July 2025, the GNU’s ministry of justice published a statement on its Facebook page, before quickly removing it, announcing its refusal to surrender Osama AlMasri Njeem to the ICC. The statement added that “Libya has neither signed nor ratified the Rome Statute. Therefore, no Libyan citizen will be surrendered outside the jurisdiction of Libyan territory, and the national judiciary is fully competent to consider such cases.”In October 2024, the ICC announced arrest warrants against six leaders, senior members, and affiliates of al-Kaniat, an armed group that committed crimes under international law during its reign of terror over the Libyan city of Tarhouna, including mass unlawful killings, torture, enforced disappearances and forced displacement. The six remain at large and/or have yet to be surrendered to the Court.One of the six is Abdelbari Ayyad Ramadan al-Shaqaqi who has been since 2024 in custody of DACTO. In August 2025, the Office of the Public Prosecution announced that it had ordered the pretrial detention of a member of al-Kaniat, without disclosing his name but providing credentials matching those of Abdelbari Ayyad Ramadan al-Shaqaqi. The prosecution did not clarify the charges against him and only stated that he was being investigated for a suspected abduction and killing before 2020. No information has been made public on whether he was referred to trial.Failure to investigate or prosecute militia leadersSuccessive Libyan governments continued to integrate members of militias and armed groups into state institutions without vetting them to exclude those suspected of crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations. Even in rare cases when the government disestablished some militias or removed their leaders, they failed to initiate criminal investigations against them or vet their members.Most recently, in May 2025 the GNU dissolved the DOJS, which was headed by Osama AlMasri Njeem, and integrated its members into the Ministry of the Interior without conducting individual vetting to exclude and hold accountable those reasonably suspected of involvement in crimes under international.In the same month, the government dismissed Lotfi al-Harari, former head of the Internal Security Agency (ISA) in Tripoli. Amnesty International had documented how ISA members subjected dozens of men and women to arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearances. No criminal investigations into claims that crimes under international law were committed at ISA under his command have taken place.Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, a military commander or a person effectively acting as a military commander may be responsible for the crimes committed by subordinates under his or her effective command and control, if the commander is aware of the crimes, or should have been aware of them, and fails to prevent or punish them.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.
2026-02-18 06:59:12
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