Unlawful detentions, media oppression and the erosion of human rights in Libya

Most political and security actors across the country are responsible for the erosion of human rights and civil liberties in Libya.

However, few have been as shamelessly public about their crackdown as the Tripoli branch of the Internal Security Agency (ISA), an armed group that receives funding from the Government of National Unity (GNU) and is nominally under the control of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba. Led by Lutfi Al-Harari, the ISA in Tripoli has been particularly ruthless and brazen in its approach, openly flouting legal standards and employing aggressive tactics to suppress dissent and control the narrative.

Specifically, the ISA has been cracking down on journalists, activists, and anyone who is deemed to be critical of the status quo. Their prime tactic to suppress dissent involves carrying out arbitrary arrests and releasing so-called “confession videos” that display detainees with their faces obscured to conceal signs of torture or abuse. These videos feature detainees making extended statements under duress, often filled with fragmented and often legally insufficient information.

Even more alarmingly, these individuals are never apprehended through lawful procedures and are often subjected to overt intimidation tactics, underscoring the arbitrary nature of their detention.

Violation of Libyan law

Adding to the controversy, the videos mention third parties and divulge personal data, private conversations, and images retrieved from the detainees' phones, flagrantly violating their privacy and further manipulating the narrative.

This practice is in flagrant violation of Libyan Criminal Procedures Law, which mandates either a crime in progress or a prosecutor’s warrant for any arrest. It also requires the presence of a lawyer during any interrogation and ensures the confidentiality of investigations and their outcomes, placing legal responsibility for this squarely on the Libyan state.

The ISA has openly stated that these videos are part of their strategy to “deter those who oppose their policies.” Through these recordings, they aim to garner public support for their operations by including information meant to incite public opinion against the detainees, who are coerced into questionable confessions under duress.

Despite a formal directive from the Ministry of Interior in May 2022 prompted by complaints from human rights organizations, the ISA continues to post coerced confessions on their official social media accounts. The Ministry's directive instructed security agencies to remind their personnel to operate according to the law, respect human rights principles, and prohibit the publication of detainees' confessions.