URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
LBY 001 / 1120 / OBS 125
Killing
Libya
November 12, 2020
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Libya.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the killing of Ms. Hanan al-Barassi, a prominent lawyer, women’s rights activist and outspoken critic of the corruption and human rights violations conducted by the authorities and their militias in Libya[1], including the Libyan National Army (LNA), of which Benghazi is under control, headed by Khalifa Haftar.
According to the information received, on November 11, 2020, Ms. Hanan al-Barassi was shot in broad daylight by a group of unidentified gunmen in Benghazi city centre. The day before her killing, Ms. al-Barassi had announced on social media that she would release information regarding the Haftar family, including incriminating footage exposing corruption within the family. Furthermore, Ms. al-Barassi and her daughter had been receiving death threats before she was killed as a result of Ms. al-Barassi’s human rights activities. The LNA has stated that they have summoned security chiefs in Benghazi to order an investigation into the assassination.
The Observatory condemns in the strongest terms the killing of Ms. Hanan al-Barassi and urges the authorities in Benghazi to conduct an immediate, thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation into her murder, to identify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law.
The Observatory further urges the authorities of Libya to put an end to the culture of impunity that prevails in the country and to fully comply with the Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Libya and UN Member States to grant the needed support and resources for the investigation.
The Observatory is particularly concerned by the alarming number of targeted attacks against human rights defenders across Libya, and recalls that the fatal attack on Ms. al-Barassi is the latest in a long line of attacks on women human rights defenders in Libya, where any prominent activists who speak against the authorities and their affiliated militias are instantly targeted and in danger. These attacks on women human rights defenders and activists as well as the failure of authorities to conduct effective investigations into these acts continue to create a hostile and deadly environment for those who speak out against human rights violations in Libya.
Actions Requested:
Please write to the authorities of Libya asking them to;
i. Guarantee in all circumstances, the physical integrity and psychological well-being of all human rights defenders in Libya;
ii. Carry out a swift, thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation into the killing of Ms. Hanan al-Barassi in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and punish them as provided by the law;
iii. Put an end to all act of harassment, including at the judicial level, against all human rights defenders in Libya and ensure that they are able to carry out their activities without hindrance and fear of reprisals;
iv. Conform in all circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular its Articles 1, 6 and 12.2;
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights instruments ratified by Libya.
Addresses:
· Mr. Fayez al-Sarraj, Prime Minister, Tripoli, Libya, Twitter: @FaiezSerraj
· Mr. Fathi Bashagha, Minister of Interior, Tripoli, Libya, Email: info@moi.gov.ly, Twitter: @ FathiAliGov
· Mr. Adel Shaltut, Chief of the Permanent Mission of the State of Libya to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Email: mission.libye@bluewin.ch
· Permanent Mission of the State of Libya to the United Nations in New York, USA. Email: info@libyanmission-un.org
· Embassy of Libya in Brussels, Belgium. Email: info@embassyoflibya.eu
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Libya in your respective countries.
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Geneva-Paris, November 12, 2020
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
[1] Ms. al-Barassi was notably very vocal on cases of alleged assault and sexual violence and rape against women in Benghazi and implicated members of armed groups in the city, as well as on cases of financial fraud within the authorities and the arm
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