Over the past year, the Tripoli-based Internal Security Agency (ISA) has subjected dozens of men, women, and children to a variety of abuses, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and torture, some under the pretext of the death penalty. Some are sentenced to death. Amnesty International said today: “Defending Virtue.”
Amnesty International said the ISA's crackdown on freedom of thought, expression and religion has intensified against the backdrop of a May 2023 decree issued by the public religious organization Directorate General for Endowments and Islamic Affairs (known as Awqaf). We have collected evidence that The ISA's vicious campaign, which has been described as “religious, intellectual and moral aberrations,” has been publicly praised by senior Awqaf officials, and is aimed mainly at Libya, under the pretext of “defending virtue and cleansing society.” targeted young people, particularly those from the Amazigh community and foreigners. In some cases, this has led to investigations into charges that are punishable by the death penalty.
“The Libyan government's inaction against the ISA's crimes, which are clearly documented under international law, such as torture and enforced disappearances, has emboldened the ISA to commit further abuses, and the ideology behind the cloak of “protecting virtue.'' It perpetuates a vicious campaign to suppress freedom of expression and religion,” said Bassam al-Qantar, Libya researcher at Amnesty International.
“Libyan authorities must ensure the immediate release of all those detained solely for exercising their human rights and end the persecution of individuals who have expressed their beliefs. ISA commanders and members suspected of serious human rights violations must be removed from power pending an impartial criminal investigation and, where sufficient evidence exists, prosecution. ”
Amnesty International is following up on the cases of four people currently in detention who are appealing the prosecutor's pre-trial detention order, as well as nine Libyan activists based in Libya or in exile, two former detainees, their families, I interviewed a lawyer. We reviewed 15 “confession” videos released by ISA since March 2023.
The ISA's increased enforcement targets individuals seen as rejecting Awqaf's dominant Madhari Salafist ideology, which significantly limits the rights of women, girls, religious minorities, and LGBTI people.
Disturbing video showing forced confession
A video posted online by the ISA shows at least 24 people making “confessions” under apparent duress. At least 19 people remain in pretrial detention in Tripoli's al-Ruwaimi and al-Judeidah prisons on orders from the public prosecutor's office. They are charged with “illegal sexual intercourse,” “promotion of views and principles aimed at subverting the political, social and economic order of the state,” “blasphemy” and “apostasy.” Some of these charges carry sentences of life imprisonment or death.
On December 28, 2023, the ISA recorded footage of 14 people, including four women and a 17-year-old girl, “confessing” to crimes such as “spreading atheism,” “apostasy,” and “apostasy” under apparent duress. The two videos were posted on social media channels. “Acceptance of non-religion,'' “Adoption of liberal ideas,'' “Wife swapping,'' and “Homosexuality.'' Previous videos released by ISA in April and May 2023 show 10 other people “professing” their “Christian beliefs” and “insulting Islam.”
Amnesty International documents confirmed that the ISA arrested those who appeared in the videos between March and October 2023.
“I could hear the screams of the other detainees.”
ISA officers arrested targets from their homes or on the streets without filing warrants. In some cases, the ISA arrested relatives of “wanted” persons to force them to surrender. Since September 2023, the ISA has also used the phone and chat histories of two other detained activists of hers to arbitrarily arrest at least nine more people.
The Libyan government's inaction against the ISA's well-documented crimes under international law, including torture and enforced disappearances, has encouraged the ISA to commit further abuses…
Bassam Al Kantar, Amnesty International
ISA interrogators routinely subject detainees to torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence, beatings, electric shocks, and suspension in compression positions. Those detained were interrogated without the presence of a lawyer.
A foreigner, who requested anonymity, told Amnesty International that he was arrested in Tripoli by armed men in civilian clothes and taken to ISA headquarters without disclosing his affiliation or the reason for his arrest. He was kept incommunicado for a week and subjected to numerous interrogations by the ISA's Central Security Commission chairman and others.
He said ISA investigators forced him to reveal his mobile phone and laptop passwords, interrogated him for hours, and recorded his WhatsApp conversations and espionage before accusing him of “conspiracy” and “espionage.” The company reportedly scrutinized work-related calls.
He told Amnesty International that on his way from his cell to the toilet, he heard the screams of other detainees and saw bloodstains on the floor. He was eventually deported.
Another human rights defender, who was detained for 10 months on charges of “associating with atheists and feminists and insulting the state religion,” was interrogated by ISA commander Lotfi al-Harari and beaten with batons by at least two ISA officers. He said he was present at the scene where people were stripped of their clothes. He stripped naked and touched his genitals.
On September 17, 2023, the ISA arbitrarily arrested two Amazigh female activists and a sister, aged 22 and 27. In a video released by the ISA on December 28, two women can be heard “confessing” to “atheism” and “apostasy.” On January 22, prosecutors extended pretrial detention for 30 days.
Some of those still being arbitrarily detained include those who were arrested on March 26, 2023, appeared in a video released by the ISA on April 6, 2023, and who converted to Christianity in 2017. There is also Sifa Madi, who has “confessed” to what he did. He is accused of “apostasy” and is sentenced to death.
The ISA's repression has disproportionately affected the Amazigh community, including members of the Ibadi faith and the Maliki school of thought.
An activist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ISA was intensifying its campaign against the Amazigh community, citing a leaked list containing the names of Amazigh and Ibadi activists, who could be subject to surveillance and arrest. He said that it suggests.
In addition, Nizar (pseudonym) has been involved in a number of cultural and religious acts, including the destruction of Sufi Corner and the vandalism of monuments in November 2023 by the al-Hasin Committee, which was tasked by the Awqaf to fight the “war against witchcraft and witchcraft.” A case of attack on archaeological sites was reported. These actions targeted imams and preachers of Maliki and Ibadi communities in the northwestern city of Efran.
“Libyan authorities must immediately halt their campaign against Amazigh and Ibadi activists, end the destruction and demolition of Sufi shrines, and protect religious freedom,” Bassam al-Qantar said.
background
Tripoli's ISA is nominally under the Government of National Accord's Presidential Council and receives state funding. Amnesty International has previously documented violations committed by ISA in western Libya.
On January 9, 2024, Libya's parliament approved a new law that criminalizes “witchcraft and sorcery” and carries penalties ranging from up to 14 years' imprisonment to the death penalty.
Awqaf Decree No. 436/2023 established a central committee of 17 officials, including representatives of security agencies, to implement the “Guardians of Virtue” program. Yehya Ben Halim, a prominent member of the commission, publicly praised the ISA's role in the fight against “apostasy” and “liberal ideology.”
