On Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report titled “Injustice By Design: Need for Comprehensive Justice Reform in Libya,” highlighting a crackdown on fundamental freedoms within Libya’s justice sector. The report indicates that the North African nation is hesitant to investigate serious human rights abuses and international crimes, noting that “the justice system is marked by serious due process violations” at both civil and military levels. HRW also emphasized that Libya’s Penal Code is outdated and fails to address international crimes. The laws established between 1976 and 2011, during the regime of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, are described as oppressive and in violation of international law, including provisions for arbitrary detention and assaults on civil society.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Libyan authorities to uphold fair trial standards and to reform both legislation and the judiciary in light of ongoing due process violations. Legal professionals, witnesses, and defendants face harassment and intimidation, while migrants, asylum seekers, and nationals in detention centers endure inhumane conditions. Additionally, civilians are subjected to arbitrary detention.
HRW also called on Libyan lawmakers to repeal sections of the Penal Code that conflict with international human rights obligations. The Penal Code imposes severe penalties, including the death penalty under Article 207, titled “Promotion of Any Act against the System of the State.” This article mandates the death penalty for anyone who promotes views or principles intended to "overthrow the political, social, or economic order of the State, or to destroy the fundamental structures of the social order."
The rights organization urged authorities to ratify the Convention against Torture and to align their definition of torture with the convention's standards. Article 1 explicitly prohibits inflicting severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports that approximately 8,000 prisoners in Libya endure torture while in detention.
Since the overthrow and assassination of Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been politically divided, with rival governments vying for control since 2014. The Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Dbeibah, governs Tripoli in the west, while the House of Representatives (HoR), under Prime Minister Ossama Hammad, holds power in Tobruk in the east, backed by the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF). Following Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's unsuccessful attempt to seize Tripoli, militia violence has surged, resulting in a crackdown on fundamental freedoms.
