LBY 001 / 0518 / OBS 067.1

Arbitrary detention /

Judicial harassment /

Threats / Ill-treatment /

Release

Libya

May 23, 2018

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgentintervention in the following situation in Libya.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the release of Mr. RamadanAlthoweeb as well as the ongoing arbitrary detention by armed militias of Mr. Essam Safar, two bloggers who have denouncedcorruption and the presence of armed militia groups in Libya via social media.

Accordingto the information received, on May 10, 2018, Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb wasreleased from Ain Zara prison under the conditions that he would nevercriticise the municipality and militias again, and that he would offer anofficial apology to the municipality on Facebookin response to his previous post[1].

Mr.Ramadan Althoweeb had been arrested and detained since April 9, 2018 inrelation to Facebook posts in whichhe exposed the head of Ain Zara’s municipality, Mr. Abdulwahab Baloq, andreleased documents proving acts of corruption and the transfer of money topeople who are not employed by the municipality. Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb alsocalled for accountability and transparency by the municipality (see backgroundinformation section below).

Inaddition, Mr. Essam Safar remains detained at Al Jawiya prison since March 31,2018, despite very precarious health conditions, in connection to Facebook posts in which he hadcriticised the religious current and armed militias controlling Libyan securityforces as well as the lack of rule of law in the country. He cannot contact hisfamily and does not have access to a lawyer.

TheObservatory expresses its utmost concern over the arbitrary detention of Mr.Essam Safar and his physical and psychological integrity given the widespreaduse of torture and ill-treatment by Libyan authorities and the diverse armedmilitias controlling parts of the country, taking place in a context of totalimpunity.

TheObservatory urges the Libyan authorities to immediately and unconditionallyrelease Mr. Essam Safar as his detention is arbitrary and aims at silencing hispeaceful and legitimate human rights activities, particularly his right tofreedom of expression, and to further put an end to all forms of harassmentagainst Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb.

Inthe meantime, the Observatory calls upon the Libyan authorities to ensure hisphysical and psychological integrity, to ensure he has unhindered access to hislawyers and family as well as to conduct an immediate, thorough, impartial andtransparent investigation into the incidents mentioned below in order toidentify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, andsanction them as provided by the law.

Background information:

OnMarch 31, 2018, Mr. Essam Safar was arrested by armed militias in Misrata andtaken to Al Jawiya prison[2].One day before his arrest, he was followed and shot in the leg by armedmilitias, and subsequently hospitalised in Misrata. When his family tried tovisit him at the hospital that night, they were told he was not there.

Mr. Essam Safar was transferred to Al Jawiya prison a day after he hadbeen shot in the leg and before being fully treated at the hospital. As asresult his injury was not treated adequately and is worsening.

Mr.Essam Safar’s arrest follows Facebookposts in which he had criticised the religious current and armed militiascontrolling Libyan security forces as well as the lack of rule of law in thecountry. His Facebook page has sincebeen taken down. He is facing several accusations including “drug dealing”,“armed attack on security forces” and “attempted murder”.

OnApril 9, 2018, Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb was threatened by the Militia 42 Ain Zara,an armed militia group controlling the Ain Zara municipality, to withdraw andoffer an apology for Facebook postsin which he exposed the head of Ain Zara’s municipality, Mr. Abdulwahab Baloq,and released documents proving acts of corruption and the transfer of money topeople who are not employed by the municipality. Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb alsocalled for accountability and transparency by the municipality. Mr. RamadanAlthoweeb’s Facebook was temporarilytaken down.

Uponhis refusal, Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb was abducted from the street by the Militia42 in Ain Zara. He was further detained at Ain Zara prison, a prison known forhis acts of ill-treatment on detainees, in the outskirts of Tripoli. He did nothave access to his lawyer and family. Additionally, on April 9, 2018, hisfather was physically attacked by the Militia 42 in Ain Zara while he tried tovisit his son in prison.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Libya,urging them to:

i. Guarantee in allcircumstances Messrs. Ramadan Althoweeb and Essam Safar’s psychological andphysical integrity as well as of all human rights defenders in Libya;

ii. Immediately andunconditionally release Mr. Essam Safar as his detention is arbitrary and onlyaims at punishing him for his peaceful and legitimate human rights activities;

iii.In the meantime,guarantee the right to due process and fair trial of Mr. Essam Safar, includingthe unhindered access to his lawyers and family;

iv.Conductan immediate, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into theabove-mentioned incidents in order to identify all those responsible, bringthem before an independent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law;

v. Put an end to all formsof harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. RamadanAlthoweeb and Essam Safar and all human rights defenders in Libya so that theycan carry out their work without hindrance or fear of reprisals;

vi.Comply with all the provisions of the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations GeneralAssembly on December 9, 1998, in particular with its Articles 1, 5(b), and12.2;

vii. Ensure in all circumstances the respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rightsinstruments ratified by Libya.

Addresses:

· Mr. Fayez al-Sarraj, Prime Minister, Tripoli, Libya, Twitter:@FaiezSerraj

· Mr. Mohamed Abdelwahed Abdelhameed, Minister of Justice, Tripoli, Libya.Fax: +218 21 480 4631

· Mr. Aref al-Khoga, Minister of Interior, Tripoli, Libya. Fax: +218 21340 0461

· Mr. Adel Shaltut, Chief of the Permanent Mission of the State of Libyato the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Email: mission.libye@bluewin.ch,Fax: +41 22 959 89 10

· Permanent Mission of the State of Libya to the United Nations in NewYork, USA. Email: info@libyanmission-un.org, Fax: + 1-212-593-4787

· Embassy of Libya in Brussels, Belgium. Email: info@embassyoflibya.eu, Fax:+3226492113

Please also write to the diplomaticrepresentations of Libya in your respective countries.

***

Geneva-Paris, May 23, 2018

Kindly inform us of any action undertakenquoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 bythe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of thisprogramme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

To contact the Observatory, call theemergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

• Tel and fax OMCT + 41(0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

• Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

[1] See:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013113827963

[2] The Libyan Government's authority is challenged by nearly 2,000operating militias across the country which have profited from and filled thevacuum of Libya's political fragmentation. The “rouge” armed militia groups,outside of government control and without government financing, control most ofthe public bodies in Misrata. Their income comes from human trafficking andsmuggling of oil and arms. Libyan civilians are in fear of those militias andif they speak out against them, they face imprisonment, enforced disappearanceand/or torture. During the 2011 uprising, Misrata became a stronghold forIslamist militias with more than 200 militias and a total of 40,000 fighters.Some receive funding from the General National Congress, one of Libya's threerival governments, while others have links to Muslim Brotherhood politicians. @font-face { font-family: "MS Mincho";}@font-face { font-family: "MS Gothic";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Calibri";}@font-face { font-family: "@MS Gothic";}@font-face { font-family: "@MS Mincho";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }h1 { margin: 24pt 0cm 0.0001pt 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; page-break-after: avoid; font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; color: rgb(52, 90, 138); font-weight: bold; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }p { margin: 14pt 0cm; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.Heading1Char { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; color: rgb(52, 90, 138); font-weight: bold; }span.Caractresdenotedebasdepage { vertical-align: super; }span.FooterChar { }span.HeaderChar { }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }