Libyan prison commander accused of crimes by ICC

Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, a former senior commander at Mitiga prison in Libya has been accused of multiple crimes including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence by International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors, Africanews via associated press reported on 2nd December.

El Hishri was reportedly arrested in Germany on 16th July under a sealed ICC warrant. After being held in Germany for months, the court confirmed that he had been transferred to The Hague earlier this week.

According to the ICC representatives that intend to prosecute him, El Hishri was involved in numerous illegal abuses of power between 2015 and 2020 during his time as senior commander at Mitiga prison. He is suspected to have ordered and oversaw the murder, torture, rape and sexual abuse of inmates.

The ICC have called El Hishri’s arrest a major step towards accountability for crimes committed inside Libyan detention centres. There have multiple reports of authorities in Libyan detention centres abusing their powers to enact human rights violations.

Furthermore, El Hishri is not the only Libyan official to be under investigation from the ICC. Earlier this year, the ICC requested the extradition of the senior commander of Libya’s Special Deterrence Force, Osama Najim, for charges relating to murder, torture, rape and crimes against humanity. Najim’s crimes were also reportedly committed at the Mitiga prison in Tripoli.

The case surrounding El Hishri is still currently in progress, however, the first hearing set to be held later this week where the judges will confirm his identity, ensure he understands the charges and verify he understands his rights. Following this, the ICC prosecutors are set to present their evidence against El Hishri in which the judges will decide whether or not to proceed the case to a full trial. As such, the outcome of these accusations are expected to take several months.

Africanews via associated press, Maghrebi.org