Libya
We remain concerned, in particular, by
restrictions on freedom of association and expression; continued incidences of
arbitrary detention; shortcomings in Libya’s respect for the rights of
migrants; and mistreatment of detainees.
In June we raised with the Libyan government our concerns about reports
of human rights abuses at migrant detention centres. We also raised a number of individual cases
with the Libyan authorities. These
included the case of Jaballa Matar, who disappeared in Cairo in 1990 and was
later reported to be imprisoned in Libya, and a British national who was held
in detention incommunicado in Libya
for five months in 2010. We continued
practical cooperation with Libya on a prison reform project. In November, we made a statement at Libya’s
Universal Periodic Review, in which we highlighted visits to Libya in 2009 by
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and called on the government to
issue a standing invitation to the UN Special Procedures of the Human Rights
Council to visit Libya.
Limited
positive human rights developments in 2010 included the release of a large
number of political prisoners who had either been acquitted or had completed
their sentences, continued improvements to the standards of Libyan prisons and
changes to the law to give mothers and fathers equal standing in the
determination of their children’s nationality.
A review of the Libyan penal code was also in progress at the end of the
year.
Internationally,
Libya was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for a three-year term in
May. Libya made a number of pledges and
commitments to promote and protect human rights when presenting its candidature
for election. Although we did not
support Libya’s candidacy due to its human rights record, it is nevertheless
important that Libya honours these commitments, particularly to establish a
constructive dialogue with civil society and NGOs at national, regional and
international level and to cooperate with other countries to ensure the full
implementation of international human rights instruments. Libya underwent the Council’s Universal
Periodic Review in November.
Death penalty
The Libyan
penal code still provides for the death penalty. In a statement at its Universal Periodic
Review, Libya said that it had applied the death penalty in 201 cases since
1990. In May Libya executed by firing
squad 18 prisoners convicted of murder.
The Libyan penal code also allows the death penalty for crimes such as
the formation or support of illegal organisations or the promotion of principles
that undermine the constitution or the social structure.
We were
encouraged, however, by signs that Libya was considering reforming its penal
code to restrict the use of the death penalty to the most serious crimes. In our statement at Libya’s Universal Periodic
Review we called for Libya to amend its penal code in this regard. We recommended that Libya commute all
existing death sentences and impose a moratorium on the use of the death
penalty as a first step towards its abolition.
Libya was due to respond to our recommendation at the UN Human Rights
Council in March 2011.
Torture
Torture is
considered a crime under the Libyan penal code, but prosecutions are rare and
elements of the Libyan security services seem able to act with impunity. Both international and domestic human rights
organisations have received credible reports of torture and mistreatment in
recent years. In response to
recommendations at the Universal Periodic Review that it should adopt domestic
legislation in line with international standards on the definition of torture,
Libya claimed that these had already been, or were in the process of being,
implemented.
As part of
the Universal Periodic Review we urged Libya to investigate reports of torture
thoroughly and to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against
Torture, which establishes an international inspection system for places of
detention.
Prisons and detention issues
We continue
to have strong concerns about the practice of extra-judicial detention and the
ability of the security forces to act outside of the law with impunity. These problems were highlighted by the case
of a British national who was detained incommunicado without being charged for
five months. We raised our concerns
about the circumstances of his detention with the Libyan government on numerous
occasions, but have yet to receive a response.
We also raised the case in our advance questions at Libya’s Universal
Periodic Review. We called for an
investigation, noting that the Libyan code forbids kidnap and imprisonment.
A large number
of individuals remain in arbitrary detention in Libya’s high-security
prisons. Some are reported to have been
detained without charge or remain in pre-trial detention. Others have been acquitted or have been
convicted through court proceedings that do not meet international standards
for a fair trial. At the General
People’s Congress in January, the secretary of the General People’s Committee
for Justice highlighted this problem and said that the Committee was not able
to resolve it. He claimed that more than
300 individuals remained imprisoned without any legal basis.
In January
2010 the Libyan authorities released prisoners of conscience Muhammad Aqilah al-Abbar and Umran Muhammad Al-Mahdawi, who
had been arrested in Zliten in April 2008.
On 23 March, following three years of negotiation, Libya
announced the release of 214 prisoners with links to Islamist groups. Many of these prisoners had either already
served their sentence in full or had been acquitted. This followed the release of smaller groups
in 2009.
In response
to international concern about arbitrary detentions, Libya claimed that it had
released all of its arbitrary detainees and political prisoners who had “abandoned
the use of terrorist acts”. In our
advance questions during Libya’s Universal Periodic Review we asked whether
those released included Mahmoud Mohamed Aboushima, Abdellatif Al Ragoubi and
Mahmud Hamed Matar, who had been mentioned in human rights reports. Libya has not provided a detailed response,
but Mahmud Hamed Matar was among the 12 prisoners released in February 2011.
We also asked
about Jaballa Matar, who disappeared in Cairo in 1990 and is believed to have
been transferred to detention in Libya shortly afterwards. Ministers and embassy officials in Tripoli
raised Jaballa Matar’s case with the Libyan government on a regular basis
throughout 2010. The Libyan government
had not responded by the end of the year.
Since 2004,
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has funded the International Centre
for Prison Studies in London to conduct a prison reform project in Libya. The project is due to conclude in February
2011. It has made considerable progress
in bringing those Libyan prisons falling under the control of the General
People’s Committee for Justice into line with international human rights
standards. It has implemented
improvements in many areas, including the quality of accommodation; the
provision of basic services, such as food, sanitation and medical facilities;
and the introduction of education and rehabilitation programmes for
prisoners. A dedicated prison
improvement team has also been established within the Ministry of Justice. But challenges remain, including serious
overcrowding.
As outlined
in our statement at the Universal Periodic Review, we encouraged Libya to bring
all of its prisons under the control of the General People’s Committee for
Justice. This includes high-security
prisons controlled by the General People’s Committee for Public Security, such
as Abu Selim, in which up to 1,200 inmates and guards were reported to have
been killed during disturbances in June 1996.
The Libyan government launched a judicial inquiry into the deaths at Abu
Selim in 2009 but no report had been published by the end of 2010.
Freedom of expression
Libya’s laws
severely restrict freedom of expression. Organised political opposition is not
tolerated. Libya’s media is one of the
least free in the world, with laws prohibiting publication of material which
does not fall “within the framework of the principles, values and objectives of
society”. Access to a number of
international websites, including YouTube, is blocked in Libya.
In 2010 two
newspapers (Oea and Qurayna), which had been launched by the
al-Ghad Media Corporation in 2007, ceased production of their printed
editions. On 7 December, the al-Ghad
Corporation also announced the closure of the Libya Press news agency office in
Libya. The statement indicated that the
decision to close the agency had been made to protect its staff from harassment
by security forces. It followed the
temporary arrest of 22 Libya Press journalists in September. The launch in 2007 of the two newspapers, and
of the Al-Libiyya satellite TV station (which closed in 2009), had been a
positive step towards greater freedom of the media in Libya.
Minorities and other discriminated
groups
Libya’s
population is predominantly Arab. Its
Constitutional Declaration of 1969, and other official documents, define Libya
as Arab and Muslim. As such, minority
communities are not recognised as being distinct from the wider Arab
population. This has implications for
the official recognition of their languages, including in the media and in
education.
The largest non-Arab population in Libya is the Amazigh (Berber)
community in the west of Libya.
Individuals calling for improved recognition of Amazigh rights can be
subject to harassment and detention. In
December, four Amazigh activists were arrested.
Two Moroccans were subsequently released and returned to Morocco; but
two Libyan
citizens remained in custody.
Other issues: Migration and refugees
The rights of
migrants, particularly those who have entered and remain in Libya illegally,
are a cause for concern. The total
number of migrants in Libya is estimated to be between 1.5 and 3 million.
Libya has no
asylum system and is not a party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees. Migrants are often detained
in poorly equipped detention centres. International human rights organisations,
such as Amnesty International, have highlighted reports of human rights
abuses, including beatings and other forms of mistreatment. For example there were allegations of mistreatment of Eritrean refugees at the
Misurata and Sabha detention centres in June.
Our Embassy raised the reports with the Libyan government and in
response to international criticism, the Libyan Foreign Ministry issued a
statement rejecting the allegations, but agreeing to provide residence permits
for the detained Eritrean migrants. It
remains unclear, however, what long-term rights of residence these migrants
will have.
In June Libya
asked the UN High Commission for Refugees to close its office in Tripoli
temporarily. We and the EU subsequently
lobbied the Libyan government to allow the Commission to re-open. We welcomed the agreement which led to the
resumption of the Commission’s operations in Libya, albeit with
restrictions. We call on the Libyan
authorities urgently to give official approval for the UN High Commission for
Refugees to resume the full range of its activities in Libya, particularly its
work with vulnerable migrants.
