Tripoli: OMCT and the Libyan Group to Monitor Human Rights Violations hold training on documenting torture and ill-treatment in Libya
The OMCT held its second training session as part of its support to Libyan civil society, entitled “The effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”, from 29 September to 1 October in Tripoli. The session was held in collaboration with the Libyan Group to Monitor Human Rights Violations. Participants from across Libya included 18 lawyers, one social worker, and one Member of Parliament.

The training, comprised of workshops, group discussions, role-playing, and a prison visit, addressed the international legal framework prohibiting torture and ill-treatment, and how to build complete case files in order to facilitate access to justice for victims, including all necessary legal and medical documentation. The workshop also covered an experience sharing on how to interview victims, who have suffered torture or rape during the case-building, as well as how lawyers should approach working on emotionally difficult cases in order to avoid any negative effects on their own emotional state.

The first session of the workshop was led by Alaa Kaoud, a human rights expert working at UNSMIL. The rest of the training was led by Samir Zaqout, a expert in documenting human rights violations, the coordinator of the fieldwork unit at the Gazan organsation Al Mezan; and Sana Hamze, an expert in provide mental healthcare to victims of torture and the head of the rehabilitation unit at the Restart Center in Lebanon.
One day of the training was devoted to a session covering different types of prison visits, how such visits should conducted, and what questions should be asked to detainees, guards, and prison authorities. This session was complimented by a group trip to the prison of Ain Zara in Tripoli, which holds around 700 prisoners. The participants then spent three hours at the prison assessing the conditions in the facility and interviewing detainees, with the guidance of the trainers.

During this visit, several participants made commitments to provide
legal assistance to detainees in the prison, and all of the participants
expressed a desire to be included in the network that OMCT is developing
comprised of lawyers and other members of civil society committed to playing a
key role in the fight against torture in Libya.
The workshop is part of a two year effort of the OMCT to increase victims’ access to justice and to build specialized civil society capacity against torture and ill-treatment and to advocate for anti-torture reforms in Libya. The project is conducted jointly with the International Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture and possible due to the generous financial support of the European Union.

For further information please contact: Belkis Wille, Human Rights
Officer (Middle East and North Africa) at the OMCT. bw@omct.org, + 216 22 194
051.
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