UN calls for probe into death of Libyan activist
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) called on April 21st for an investigation of Libyan activist, Siraj Dughman, detained by General Khalifa Haftar’s forces, in the east of the country, according to Reuters. Human rights organizations warn of an increase in extrajudicial killings by Haftar’s forces.
The UN mission also demanded to “immediate release” of other prisoners detained “arbitrarily” by Libya’s Benghazi administration.
The UN mission stated via X that it was “deeply saddened by the death” of Dughman while detained at Rajma military camp, which serves as Haftar’s headquarters, and urged Libyan “authorities to conduct a transparent and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death”.
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In an April 20th video, the Haftar-affiliated Eastern Internal Security Agency confirmed Dughman’s death, purportedly falling from a window, and fracturing his skull “while attempting to escape prison” on April 19th.
Libya has seen over a decade of political instability following the NATO-backed ousting of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Governance of the North African country is split between an internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli and an eastern administration, based in Benghazi.
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The security agency claimed Dughman was part of a group arrested in October 2023, accused of “participating in a campaign” inciting the “overthrow of official state agencies” including Haftar’s forces.
UNSMIL, however, claim the Libyan activist was “arbitrarily arrested” among members of the Libyan Centre for Future Studies, and independent think tank, who “were never formally charged or appeared in court.” Dughman was the director of the organisation’s office in Benghazi.
Extrajudicial arrests, detentions, and assassinations of political dissidents, and human rights activists are increasingly common place in Libya, particularly under the country’s eastern administration in recent years.
The Libyan Centre for Future Studies said Haftar’s security forces were “responsible for his death” which occurred in “obscure circumstances”. The sentiment was echoed by the Human Rights Solidarity watchdog, who discredited the official explanation and claimed that three citizens had died in detention in Haftar’s prisons between April 19th and 21st, according to The Libya Observer.
Reuters / The Libya Observer
