Libya called to order by the UN: Crimes of the past must be investigated
Joint press release of TRIAL and Alkarama
Geneva, 27 June 2012
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has recently condemned Libya following the disappearance in 2006 and 2007 of two brothers defended by TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) and Alkarama. The new Libyan authorities are now required to investigate these facts, to punish the perpetrators of these enforced disappearances and to compensate the victims. The two organisations call on Libya to comply with the decision of the Human Rights Committee and to work towards the establishment of a genuine rule of law.
Idriss Aboufaied, a doctor committed to defending human rights, was a political refugee in Switzerland. He returned to Libya in September 2006 following public guarantees offered by Colonel Gaddafi that the exiles could return home without fear of persecution. Soon after, he was arbitrarily arrested and detained incommunicado for 54 days, during which he was tortured so badly that he had to be hospitalised. Released on December 29, 2006, he nevertheless continued his activities in favour of democracy. Idriss Aboufaied was again arrested on 16 February 2007 along with 11 others who were preparing to stage a peaceful protest against the regime and held incommunicado for two months. All the detainees declared that they were tortured during the first 5 months of detention. On 20 April 2007, Idriss Aboufaied was charged with various criminal offences, punishable by death. Already gravely ill, Idriss Aboufaied was then placed in a cell without light or contact with the outside world for months. On June 10, 2008, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was finally released on 8 October 2008 on health grounds.
Following the arrest of Idriss Aboufaied on 16 February 2007, his brother Juma tried to alert Alkarama by phone. He was immediately arrested by the internal security services and taken to an unknown destination. He was released on 27 May 2008, after being held incommunicado for 15 months, without having been brought before a judge.
In a decision that has just been rendered, the Human Rights Committee condemns Libya for multiple violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, one of the most important UN human rights conventions. The Committee recognises that the two Aboufaied brothers have been victims of enforced disappearances, as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and in the case of Idriss Aboufaied, of torture. The Committee requires Libya to conduct a thorough and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Idriss and Juma Aboufaied and on the treatment they were subjected to and to provide them with detailed information on the results of its investigation. The Committee also stresses the obligation of Libya to prosecute, try and punish those responsible for the abuses committed and to provide adequate compensation to the victims.
TRIAL and Alkarama, who defended the victims before the Human Rights Committee, expressed great satisfaction with this condemnation of Libya. For Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL, “even if the crimes were committed by the former regime, the new authorities have an obligation to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes. Reconstructing a State based on the rule of law implies that the truth is shed, that criminals are prosecuted and that justice is given to the Aboufaied brothers, like so many other victims of the dictatorship.” For Rachid Mesli, Legal Director of Alkarama, “Libya needs to be rebuilt in compliance with the law. It is imperative to avoid future violations that perpetrators are prosecuted effectively, in accordance with international standards.”
Libya has a period of six months to inform the Committee of the actions it has taken to implement the Committee’s decision. Both organisations are examining which follow-up measures they can themselves take following this condemnation.
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