UN calls on Libya to investigate MP’s kidnapping six years on

On July 17th, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) marked exactly six years since the disappearance of a Libyan MP by calling for a comprehensive and independent investigation to reach justice, according to the Tripoli based news organization the Libyan Express.

MP Siham Sergiwa, an elected member of the House of Representatives, was abducted from her home in Benghazi and her husband assaulted by the kidnappers.

No credible or official investigation was launched and Sergiwa’s location remains unknown.

Kidnapping is a widespread issue in Libya, and Serwiga is not the only MP who has been targeted. UNSMIL drew attention to MP Ibrahim Al-Dersim who went missing in Benghazi in May 2024, and since then footage appeared online that showed Al-Dersi tied up and tortured, according to the Libyan Express.

These kidnappings of people targeted for their political views often sparks public outrage but does not lead to serious investigations, in the case of these MP’s and others.

On June 30th, human rights organizations called for a transparent investigation into the abduction of an activist who was heavily involved in anti-government protests in Tripoli.

According to the Libyan Express, Sergiwa’s kidnappers are widely believed to be forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army which is aligned with the eastern government in Libya.

UNSMIL’s statement voiced deep alarm over the failure of the authorities in eastern Libya to hold anyone to account over the crime, and warned that the incident is part of a culture of political repression and intimidation.

They describe enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention as methods of silencing opposition that breach international human rights laws, whether the targets be members of government or prominent activists.

The eastern Libyan government is not the only official body utilizing these illegal strategies.

A 2011 NATO-led mission to overthrow Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi split the nation into two rival administrations, one in the east and one in the western capital of Tripoli.

On March 24th it was reported that UNSMIL had criticized the government in Tripoli over their use of arbitrary arrests which included the detention of a judge on March 10th, despite previously consistently backing the Tripoli government.

UNSMIL has asked Libyan authorities in both administrations to take significant steps immediately to end the breaking of human rights law and start investigating kidnapping to attain justice for victims and families, with a long-term goal of ending the abuse in order to bring peace.

Libyan Express/Maghrebi