The United Nations Support Mission in Libya UNSMIL) welcomed the release of three Libyan officials, who had been illegally detained.
According to a thread on the UNSMIL Twitter account, Faisal Gherghab; the former Head of the Libyan Post Telecom and Information Technology Company (LPTIC), Mohamed Al-Qiblawi; the Chairman of the General Union of Libya Students, and Mansour Atti; the Head of the Libyan Red Crescent Society in Ajdabiya were recently released from detention.
UNSMIL called for the immediate release of all individuals who remain arbitrarily detained. “All arrests and detentions must be based on the rule of law, in line with Libya’s human rights obligations.”
The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) also welcomed their release.
It renewed its demand for the immediate release of all persons arbitrarily detained. “All arrests and detentions must be based on the rule of law in line with Libya’s human rights obligations and contribute to promoting the rule of law and justice,” it reiterated.
In a related context, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Libyan Parliament, Youssef Al-Agouri held a virtual meeting with human rights activist and advisor to the International Crisis Group, Claudia Gazzini.
Gazzini is following up on the conditions of a number of Libyan youths imprisoned in Italy. This is related to the deaths of a number of migrants.
In August 2015, four Libyans in Sicily were sentenced by the magistrates of Catania to 30 years in prison. They were accused of organising a crossing from Libya, in which 49 migrants died.
In September 2020, the Libyan Navy arrested 18 Italian fishermen for illegally entering Libyan waters. They asked Italy for a prisoners’ exchange. Rome rejected the demand, and said it refused to be “blackmailed”. After almost two months, the Italian fishermen were released.