A court in Tripoli sentenced Saif al-Islam Qaddafi [3], son of former Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi [4], and eight others to death for war crimes dating back to the 2011 revolution. Twenty-three other defendants were handed sentences ranging from five years to life in prison. The sentence [5] for Saif al-Islam was handed down in absentia, as he is currently detained [6] by a militia in the city of Zintan [7]. Saif al-Islam and others were accused of suppressing peaceful protests, inciting violence, and murdering protesters. The sentences have been criticized by many international advocacy groups, including Human Rights Watch [8], which stated the trial was "undermined by serious due process violations" and failed [9] to deliver justice.
Libya remains politically unstable four years after the 2011 uprising [10] and subsequent civil war that deposed Qaddafi. In December the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Support Mission in Libya released a joint report [11] describing civilian populations in Libya being subject to shelling, abduction, torture, execution and deliberate destruction of property. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein [12] attributed the potential war crimes to a feud between two rival Libyan governments [13] and several militia groups. In November Chief Prosecutor for the ICC Fatou Bensouda [14] warned that increasing violence and political instability in Libya are impeding measures to end impunity [11]. Amnesty International released a report last October accusing rival militias in Libya of committing serious human rights abuses, including war crimes [15].
From Jurist [16], July 29. Used with permission.
Note: Al-Hadba Corrections Facility, where Saif al-Islam Qaddafi's trial took place, is under the control of forces allied with the Libya Dawn [13] militia coalition that backs the self-declared authority in Tripoli and opposes the internationally recognized government based in Tobruk. (HRW [9])
