Arbitrary detention of Messrs. Essam Safar and Ramadan Althoweeb

Judicial harassment /

Threats / Ill-treatment

Libya

May 18, 2018

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Libya.

Brief descriptionof the information:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the arbitrary arrest and detention of Messrs. Essam Safar and Ramadan Althoweeb,two bloggers who have denounced corruption and the presence of armed militiagroups in Libya via social media.

Accordingto the information received, on March 31, 2018, Mr. Essam Safar was arrested byarmed militias in Misrata and taken to Al Jawiya prison[1].One day before his arrest, he was followed and shot in the leg by armedmilitias, and subsequently hospitalised in Misrata. When his family tried tovisit him at the hospital that night, they were told he was not there.

At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, Mr.Essam Safar remained detained despite very precarious health conditions at AlJawiya prison, where he does not have adequate medical attention. Indeed, Mr.Essam Safar was transferred to Al Jawiya prison a day after he had been shot inthe leg and before being fully treated at the hospital. As as result his injurywas not treated adequately and is worsening. Hehas neither contact with his family nor with a lawyer.

Mr.Essam Safar’s arrest follows Facebookposts in which he had criticised the religious current and armed militias controllingLibyan security forces as well as the lack of rule of law in the country. His Facebook page has since been taken down.He is facing several accusations including “drug dealing”, “armed attack onsecurity forces” and “attempted murder”.

Moreover,on April 9, 2018, Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb was threatened by the Militia 42 AinZara, an armed militia group controlling the Ain Zara municipality, to withdrawand offer an apology for Facebook postsin which he exposed the head of Ain Zara’s municipality, Mr. Abdulwahab Baloq,and released documents proving acts of corruption and the transfer of money topeople who are not employed by the municipality. Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb alsocalled for accountability and transparency by the municipality. Since, Mr.Ramadan Althoweeb’s Facebook page hasbeen taken down.

Uponhis refusal, Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb was abducted from the street by the Militia42 in Ain Zara. He is currently detained at Ain Zara prison, a prison known forhis acts of ill-treatment on detainees, in the outskirts of Tripoli. He doesnot have access to his lawyer and family. Additionally, on April 9, 2018, hisfather was physically attacked by the Militia 42 in Ain Zara while he tried tovisit his son in prison. At the timeof publication of this Urgent Appeal, Mr. Ramadan Althoweeb remained detained at Ain Zara prison and noinformation could be obtained about possible accusations against him.

TheObservatory expresses its utmost concern over the arbitrary detention ofMessrs. Ramadan Althoweeb and Essam Safar and their physical and psychologicalintegrity given the widespread use of torture and ill-treatment by Libyanauthorities and the diverse armed militias controlling parts of the country,taking place in a context of total impunity.

TheObservatory urges the Libyan authorities to immediately and unconditionallyrelease Messrs. Ramadan Althoweeb and Essam Safar as their detention isarbitrary and aims at silencing their peaceful and legitimate human rightsactivities, particularly their right to freedom of expression.

Inthe meantime, the Observatory calls upon the Libyan authorities to ensure theirphysical and psychological integrity, to ensure they have unhindered access totheir lawyers and family as well as to conduct an immediate, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the above-mentioned incidents in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Libya,urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances Messrs.Ramadan Althoweeb and Essam Safar’s psychological and physical integrity aswell as of all human rights defenders in Libya;

ii. Immediately and unconditionally releaseMessrs. Ramadan Althoweeb and Essam Safar as their detention is arbitrary andonly aims at punishing them for their peaceful and legitimate human rightsactivities;

iii. In the meantime, guarantee the right todue process and fair trial of Messrs. Ramadan Althoweeb and Essam Safar,including the unhindered access to their lawyers and family;

iv. Conduct an immediate,thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the above-mentionedincidents in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before anindependent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law;

v. Put an end to all forms of harassment,including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Ramadan Althoweeb and EssamSafar and all human rights defenders in Libya so that they can carry out their workwithout hindrance or fear of reprisals;

vi. Comply with all the provisions of the UN Declarationon Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly onDecember 9, 1998, in particular with its Articles 1, 5(b), and 12.2;

vii. Ensure in all circumstances the respect for humanrights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights and with international and regional human rights instrumentsratified by Libya.

Addresses:

· Mr. Fayez al-Sarraj, Prime Minister,Tripoli, Libya, Twitter: @FaiezSerraj

· Mr. Mohamed Abdelwahed Abdelhameed,Minister of Justice, Tripoli, Libya. Fax: +218 21 480 4631

· Mr. Aref al-Khoga, Minister of Interior,Tripoli, Libya. Fax: +218 21 340 0461

· Mr. Adel Shaltut, Chief of the PermanentMission of the State of Libya to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.Email: mission.libye@bluewin.ch, Fax: +41 22 959 89 10

· Permanent Mission of the State of Libya tothe United Nations in New York, USA. Email: info@libyanmission-un.org, Fax: +1-212-593-4787

· Embassy of Libya in Brussels, Belgium.Email: info@embassyoflibya.eu, Fax: +3226492113

Please also write to the diplomaticrepresentations of Libya in your respective countries.

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Geneva-Paris, May 18, 2018

Kindly inform us of any action undertakenquoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective ofthis programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against humanrights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights DefendersMechanism implemented by international civil society.

[1]The Libyan Government's authority is challenged by nearly2,000 operating militias across the country which have profited from and filledthe vacuum of Libya's political fragmentation. The “rouge” armed militiagroups, outside of government control and without government financing, controlmost of the public bodies in Misrata. Their income comes from human traffickingand smuggling of oil and arms. Libyan civilians are in fear of those militiasand if they speak out against them, they face imprisonment, enforceddisappearance and/or torture. During the 2011 uprising, Misrata became astronghold for Islamist militias with more than 200 militias and a total of40,000 fighters. Some receive funding from the General National Congress, oneof Libya's three rival governments, while others have links to MuslimBrotherhood politicians.