Libya’s Al-Nasr basketball club announced that the team, which includes foreign and local players, was brutally beaten by police officers at Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport.
In a statement issued on Monday, the club held the Interior Ministry of the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Tripoli Security Directorate, and the security authorities in the capital responsible for the attack.
The club called on the Libyan Basketball Federation to secure sports teams participating in local competitions. It urged the Federation to “communicate with the security authorities to protect the players and staff from the brutality of the security services.”
Al-Nasr added that the team’s fans “will not accept the infringement of anyone affiliated with the club, and will punish anyone who attacks the basketball team.”
Last week, the Libyan Attorney General’s Office announced the arrest of the killer of a young basketball fan, who was shot dead in the head at a major game in Tripoli.
The office said in a statement that “the perpetrator is an employee of the Ministry of Interior, assigned to maintain security at the scene of the accident.”
The killer confessed to firing a bullet at the vehicle in which the victim, Abdul-Mohaimen Al-Falah, was travelling.
Another policeman has been arrested for covering up the crime. “He failed to produce any evidence denying responsibility,” the statement said.
The Prosecutor ordered the detention of the killer, and his fellow pending investigation.
According to the BBC, Al-Falah was fatally injured last week in a disturbance outside the arena following the Libyan Basketball League play-off between Al Ittihad and Al-Ahly Benghazi.
The 19-year-old was taken to Tunisia for treatment but died three days later.
A promising footballer, Al-Falah played for the youth team of second division Al Azima.
The high-profile nature of the death has prompted Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba to instruct the country’s Interior Ministry to find those responsible. The Libyan Olympic Committee has stressed the need for more professional security forces at major sports events.