Benghazi detentions put Haftar’s security order under scrutiny

Around 10 Gaza flotilla activists have been held in Benghazi since May 24th after entering eastern Libya, as reported by Le Monde and agencies on June 11th, turning a humanitarian convoy into a diplomatic test for the authorities controlling Cyrenaica.

The group was linked to the Global Sumud Flotilla, an initiative seeking to deliver aid to Gaza, it included two Italians, Domenico Centrone and Leonarda Alberizia, as well as activists from Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Portugal, Spain, Poland and Tunisia.

The activists had attempted to move along Libya’s eastern coastline after earlier efforts to reach the Rafah crossing through Libya were blocked, they were stopped near Syrte, a dividing point between western and eastern Libya, before being taken to Benghazi, the centre of power for Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s eastern administration.

Syrte and the road east toward Egypt are highly sensitive areas for Haftar’s forces, and the presence of foreign activists travelling on tourist visas appears to have reinforced local suspicions.

The Global Sumud Flotilla says the group was taken in unmarked vehicles and held without proper legal, diplomatic or family access, amnesty International has called for their immediate release, describing the detention as arbitrary while Italian authorities have also pressed for access and the return of their nationals.

Italy has worked in recent years to normalise contacts with eastern Libya after previously giving stronger political backing to authorities in Tripoli, the reopening of Italy’s consulate in Benghazi in 2021 and later security cooperation with Haftar-linked forces reflected that shift.

Still, Eastern Libya remains governed through a security first system in which foreign presence, political activism and regional causes can quickly be interpreted as threats.

Haftar’s camp has long been hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood and some officials may view Gaza solidarity networks through that lens because of Hamas’s origins in the Palestinian branch of the movement.

That however does not explain away the detentions, the activists are caught between Gaza solidarity politics, Italian diplomacy and the security logic of an eastern Libyan authority that wants international recognition while still operating through opaque detention practices.

The issue now is whether Benghazi can resolve the case through diplomacy or whether it will reinforce concerns that Libya’s eastern authorities remain difficult partners for European governments when security interests and human rights collide.

Amnesty International, Le monde and agencies, maghrebi.org