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Human Rights Worse After Gaddafi
By Mel Frykberg
NZ-born filmmaker arrested in Libya freed
By Mel Frykberg
TRIPOLI, Jul 14 2012 (IPS) - ?The human rights situation in Libya now is far worse than under the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi,? Nasser al-Hawary, researcher with the Libyan Observatory for Human Rights tells IPS.
Hawary showed IPS testimonies from families whose loved ones have been beaten to death in the custody of the many militias that continue to control vast swathes of Libya.
?At least 20 people have been beaten to death in militia custody since the revolution, and this is a conservative figure. The real figure is probably far higher,? says Hawary, pointing to photos of bloodied bodies accompanying the testimonies.
Hawary is no fan of the Gaddafi regime. The former Salafist and political oponent of Gaddafi was imprisoned numerous times as a poitical dissident by Gaddafi?s secret police.
Hawary emerged from his periods of incarceration beaten and bloodied, but not broken. Far worse happened to his Islamist friends under the Gaddafi regime which was fiercely opposed to Islamic fundamentalism.
Hawary eventually escaped to Egypt where he remained until Libya?s February 17 revolution in 2011 made it safe for him and other Islamists to return.
Revenge attacks, killings and abductions against former Gaddafi supporters and against black men, who the rebels perceive as having worked as mercenaries for Gaddafi during the war, continue well after the ?liberation? of the country...
Hawary showed IPS testimonies from families whose loved ones have been beaten to death in the custody of the many militias that continue to control vast swathes of Libya.
?At least 20 people have been beaten to death in militia custody since the revolution, and this is a conservative figure. The real figure is probably far higher,? says Hawary, pointing to photos of bloodied bodies accompanying the testimonies.
Hawary is no fan of the Gaddafi regime. The former Salafist and political oponent of Gaddafi was imprisoned numerous times as a poitical dissident by Gaddafi?s secret police.
Hawary emerged from his periods of incarceration beaten and bloodied, but not broken. Far worse happened to his Islamist friends under the Gaddafi regime which was fiercely opposed to Islamic fundamentalism.
Hawary eventually escaped to Egypt where he remained until Libya?s February 17 revolution in 2011 made it safe for him and other Islamists to return.
Revenge attacks, killings and abductions against former Gaddafi supporters and against black men, who the rebels perceive as having worked as mercenaries for Gaddafi during the war, continue well after the ?liberation? of the country...
Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:04a.m.
[snip]
Ms Ward is in Libya to investigate allegations of abuse carried out by former rebels against members of a minority ethnic group from the town of Tawergha.
She had been conducting interviews with internally displaced persons at the naval academy, which has become a camp for 2,500 Tawerghans whose town was destroyed by rebel forces.
Tawerghans ? descendants of black African slaves in Libya ? have been accused of supporting the ousted Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi and targeted as a result.
[snip]
She said she was not mistreated in custody, but her equipment has been confiscated by Libyan officials. She has to report back to them on Saturday...
Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/NZ-born-filmm...#ixzz219bRUAKD
[snip]
Ms Ward is in Libya to investigate allegations of abuse carried out by former rebels against members of a minority ethnic group from the town of Tawergha.
She had been conducting interviews with internally displaced persons at the naval academy, which has become a camp for 2,500 Tawerghans whose town was destroyed by rebel forces.
Tawerghans ? descendants of black African slaves in Libya ? have been accused of supporting the ousted Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi and targeted as a result.
[snip]
She said she was not mistreated in custody, but her equipment has been confiscated by Libyan officials. She has to report back to them on Saturday...
Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/NZ-born-filmm...#ixzz219bRUAKD