Tripoli, 3 August 2013:
“Hundreds of former soldiers and supporters of Colonel Muammar
Qaddafi are at increased risk of the death penalty”, said Amnesty
International (AI), following the sentencing of a former Qaddafi
minister to death.
Ahmad Ibrahim, a former Education Minister in Qaddafi’s government,
was sentenced to death by the Misrata Court of Appeals on Wednesday 31
July along with five other men. He was charged with incitement to
discord and civil war and undermining state security during the
conflict.
Thousands of detainees are being held in relation to the 2011
conflict, including members of Qaddafi’s former security forces and
others perceived as loyalists. “Many are in danger of receiving similar
sentences as courts process their cases in the coming months” added AI.
“While the victims of war crimes and human rights violations have the
right to see justice being done, justice must not turn into revenge.
The trials of former Qaddafi loyalists are a test for Libya’s judicial
system,” said Philip Luther, Director for the Middle East and North
Africa at AI.
“The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights, and can
never be justified, regardless of the crime or the offender. This ruling
is a setback for human rights in Libya and undermines the achievements
of Libyan civil society since the end of al-Gaddafi’s rule.” Luther
added.
“Ahmad Ibrahim is the first senior official under the previous
government to be sentenced to death. The sentences will have to be
upheld by the Supreme Court before an execution can take place, but
there is a real concern that they may signal a move towards resuming
executions”, AI said.
“On 5 June, the Military Court in Misrata sentenced to death two
soldiers on charges of opening indiscriminate fire on civilians in April
2011. This followed death sentences for five soldiers last November by
the Military Court of Benghazi. Military jurisdictions should never have
the power to impose the death penalty”, added AI.
“Among the most prominent loyalists facing trial is Qaddafi’s son,
Saif al-Islam, who is due to go on trial in Libya later this month.
Libya has appealed a ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to
hand him over to be tried on two counts of crimes against humanity for
his alleged role in the 2011 conflict”.
“Serious concerns about access to fair trials in Libya remain due to
the precarious security situation. Arbitrary detention and enforced
disappearances by militias continue. The use of torture and other
ill-treatment in detention facilities is widespread”, AI reports.
”State institutions, including courts, have been attacked. Lawyers,
judges and prosecutors continue to be threatened regularly. In some
cases, those representing individuals accused of being Qaddafi
supporters have been abducted or subjected to physical harm”.
“It is doubtful that Libya’s judicial system can be truly independent
and impartial under such circumstances,” said Philip Luther.
“The last known judicial executions in Libya were carried out in
2010, when at least 18 death sentences were implemented. Under Qaddafi,
executions were regularly carried out by firing squads. The drafting of a
new Penal Code, which among other things aimed at limiting the scope of
the death penalty, had begun under Qaddafi, but was never completed.
Libya’s courts have been slowly resuming imposition of death sentences
since 2012”, AI noted.
“The new Libyan authorities must do better than the ones under
Qaddafi. A moratorium on executions should be adopted immediately, as a
first step towards abolition,” said Philip Luther.
“Since the end of the conflict, the death penalty has remained in
force for a wide range of crimes, including activities that amount to
the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression and
association.
In a worrying trend, Libyan courts have resumed imposing death
sentences in ordinary criminal cases, unrelated to the 2011 conflict, as
well. In March five men were sentenced to death by the Criminal Court
in Bengahzi for killing four bank staff in Tobruk in May 2012”.
“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception”, concluded the statement.
libya herald.