[ 2012-07-14 ]

Libya militias 'hold thousands' as deadline passes
TRIPOLI (AFP) - The Libyan authorities should take
immediate steps to assume custody of thousands of
detainees still held by militias, a rights
watchdog said on Saturday, after a deadline for a
handover passed.

"Despite months of cajoling the militias, the
transitional authorities missed the deadline and
failed to gain control over approximately 5,000
people still held arbitrarily by armed groups,
some subjected to severe torture," said Sarah Leah
Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights
Watch.

"These detainees and the approximately 4,000
others already in state custody should be granted
their full due process rights," the New York-based
group said in a statement.

HRW cited Law 38 passed on May 2 which required
the ministries of interior and defence "to refer
all supporters of the former regime," if there is
enough evidence against them, to the judiciary by
July 12.

Most detainees are members of Moamer Kadhafi's
security forces, suspected loyalists of the slain
dictator, former government officials, suspected
foreign mercenaries, or migrants from sub-Saharan
Africa, the watchdog said.

"The authorities have also shown a lack of
political will to challenge the armed groups that
fought against Moamer Kadhafi," HRW said, pointing
to the absence of clear legal consequences for
those who hold people outside the law.

The public prosecutor has convened committees
under the justice ministry to screen detainees
held in militia-run and state prisons in order to
determine if they should be charged or released,
the rights group said.

But some prisoners have been detained for more
than a year without being brought before a judge,
as required by international law, and most have
been denied access to lawyers, it added.

"In many cases, there are appears to be no legal
basis for their detention."

HRW reports have documented torture and
maltreatment in facilities run by militias,
including cases which it says have resulted in
death.

"All detention outside the law and abuse in
detention, including by militias, should be
treated as a criminal act," it said, urging the
newly elected General National Congress to end
such practices and create a working justice
system.

Source - AFP

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