’ ? r w s o t o f f h r e o g i p r r o a o h n y a t b m a m i h o u l ‘ t w h ‘libya of tomorrow’ what hope for human rights? amnesty international amnesty international is a global movement of 2.8 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human rights and other international human rights standards. we are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. amnesty international Publications first published in 2010 by amnesty international Publications international secretariat Peter benenson House 1 easton street london wC1X 0Dw United Kingdom www.amnesty.org © amnesty international Publications 2010 index: mDe 19/007/2010 original language: english Printed by amnesty international, international secretariat, United Kingdom all rights reserved. this publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. the copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. for copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. Cover photo : families of victims of the abu salim Prison killings of 1996 continue to demand truth, justice and reparation. they have been holding regular protests in the city of benghazi since late 2008. © libyan Human rights solidarity GLOSSARY CAT: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women diya: financial compensation for the family of the murder victim, or “blood money” GDF: Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation General People’s Congress: equivalent to the national parliament General Committee for Defence [Temporary]: equivalent to the Ministry of Defence General People’s Committee for Justice: equivalent to the Ministry of Justice General People’s Committee for Public Security: equivalent to the Ministry of Interior General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation: equivalent to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Had (plural hudud): a concept found in Shari’a (see below), meaning a divinely prescribed fixed offence and punishment ICCPR: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights IOPCR: International Organization of Peace, Care and Relief ISA: Internal Security Agency LIFG: al-Jama’a al-Islamiya al-Muqatila, Libyan Islamic Fighting Group NFSL: National Front for the Salvation of Libya qisas: retribution for murder Shari’a: Islamic law UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees zina: sexual relations between a man and a woman outside a lawful marriage CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................9 About this report......................................................................................................13 1. Background............................................................................................................17 Libya’s political system ............................................................................................17 Mass human rights violations in the 1970s and 1980s................................................17 Period of reform in 1988..........................................................................................18 Clashes with armed groups .......................................................................................19 Restricted space for civil society ...............................................................................20 “Reconciliation” and releases of prisoners..................................................................23 Other recent developments .......................................................................................24 Libya’s ethnic make-up ............................................................................................25 Libya in the international landscape ..........................................................................26 2. Flaws in the administration of justice........................................................................29 Legal framework for arrest and detention....................................................................31 Criminalization of peaceful activities..........................................................................33 Prisoners of conscience............................................................................................35 Human rights violations in practice – safeguards routinely disregarded ..........................39 Prolonged incommunicado detention ......................................................................39 Torture or other ill-treatment..................................................................................41 Parallel judicial system and unfair trials..................................................................44 Victims of arbitrary detention ....................................................................................47 Detainees previously held by the USA in the context of counter-terrorism ......................49 Recommendations ...................................................................................................52 3. Cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments ..............................................................55 The death penalty....................................................................................................55 Lack of information on the death penalty ................................................................56 September 2009 amnesty .....................................................................................56 Resistance to abolition of the death penalty ............................................................57 Lack of effective safeguards in death penalty cases..................................................58 Obstacles to seeking commutation or pardon...........................................................60 Discriminatory practices........................................................................................60 Unfair trials .........................................................................................................61 Recommendations on the death penalty..................................................................62 Corporal punishment and the criminalization of consensual sexual relations...................63 Discriminatory practices........................................................................................64 Recommendations on corporal punishment and the criminalization of sexual relations.66 4. The legacy of impunity ............................................................................................67 Killings in Abu Salim Prison in 1996.........................................................................68 Who was killed in Abu Salim Prison? .........................................................................70 From denial to promises of investigation ....................................................................72 Libyan authorities address the killings: One step forward, two steps back ......................76 Breaking the wall of silence ......................................................................................78 Other cases of enforced disappearance ......................................................................83 ‘Physical liquidation’ of political opponents................................................................86 Recommendations ...................................................................................................88 5. Rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants........................................................91 The role of European Union member states ................................................................93 Individuals in need of international protection in limbo................................................94 UNHCR in Libya......................................................................................................98 Detention of those believed to be irregular migrants.................................................... 99 Detention centres............................................................................................... 102 Misratah Detention Centre .................................................................................. 103 Abuses in detention............................................................................................... 105 Foreign nationals under attack................................................................................ 108 Forced returns ...................................................................................................... 110 Recommendations................................................................................................. 111 Endnotes................................................................................................................. 115 Caption © United