Libya: NTC Must Investigate Death Of Another Tawargha
Man Under Torture

Libya's armed militias have been accused of torture and
more than a dozen deaths in custody since September
2011.

By Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa
Deputy Director at Amnesty International AI April 19,
2012

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/libya-ntc-must-investigate-death-another-tawargha-man-under-torture-2012-04-19

The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) must act
immediately to investigate and prosecute abuses against
the Tawargha community of black Libyans, said Amnesty
International today, after another Tawargha man was
tortured to death in a Misratah detention centre.

The body of 44-year-old father of two Barnous Bous'a
was delivered to his family on 16 April. It was covered
with bruises and cuts, including an open wound to the
back of the head.

Barnous Bous'a was a civilian who fled his home in
Kararim in western Libya during the armed conflict,
settling in Sirte.

After his arrest by Misratah militias in October 2011
while fleeing further fighting in Sirte, he was
reportedly held at a detention facility under the
control of Misratah's Security Committee, a committee
created under the Misratah local council.

"This brutal death highlights the continuing dangers to
detainees in the new Libya," said Hassiba Hadj
Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director
at Amnesty International.

"How many more victims will die from torture until the
authorities realize the gravity of the situation, and
deliver on their promises of investigating, prosecuting
and putting an end to such crimes?"

Amnesty International has documented more than a dozen
deaths in custody at the hands of armed militias since
September 2011, amid widespread torture of suspected
al-Gaddafi loyalists and soldiers. A high proportion of
the victims were Tawarghas.

The entire population of the city of Tawargha, some
30,000 people, has suffered abuses at the hands of
armed militias in revenge to for their town's perceived
loyalty to the former government, and for crimes some
Tawargha are accused of having committed during the
siege and shelling of the neighbouring city of Misratah
by al-Gaddafi forces.

Militias from Misratah drove out the entire population
of Tawargha in August 2011, looting and burning down
their homes. Since then, armed militias from Misratah
have been hunting down Tawarghas across Libya,
snatching Tawargha men from camps for displaced people,
homes, checkpoints and even hospitals.

Those abducted are brought back to detention centres in
Misratah, where they are routinely tortured, in some
cases to death. Hundreds of Tawarghas are believed to
be detained in Misratah with fresh arrests reported to
Amnesty International this week.

At least two Tawargha men have been taken from Tripoli
since 12 April: one was arrested shortly after he left
an IDP camp and the other was captured near his
workplace. Their relatives have not been able to locate
their exact whereabouts, but heard that both had been
transferred to Misratah. There, they are at serious
risk of torture and even death.

One relative pleaded to Amnesty International: "We are
so afraid for the safety of all Tawarghas once they are
taken to Misratah. We cannot bear to hear more bad
news.We are not safe anywhere, we can't leave home, we
are trapped. If we go out, we risk arrest too. We can't
even leave and search for our relatives."

On Monday, Misratah's local leadership denied
widespread reports of torture and other abuses
committed by the city's militias, signalling that
"reconciliation between the two towns [Misratah and
Tawargha] was probably impossible at the moment" and
that "some alternative solution for the Tawargha
people" was needed.

"The leadership in Misratah is turning a blind eye to
the mounting evidence of abuses committed at the hands
of Misratah militias, arguing that only `individual
mistakes' take place," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

"It is imperative that the NTC now reins in these
militias, investigates all abuses and prosecutes those
responsible - on all sides - in accordance with
international law. Only then will Libya begin to turn
the page on decades of systematic human rights
violations."

___________________________________________

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