Diplomat Died in Custody and Political Awakening in Libya

Today, the New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in a press release that a Libyan diplomat died 24 hours after being held in militia custody.  Dr. Omar Brebesh was posted in France from 2004 until 2008, first as cultural attaché and then as Ambassador, under former Libyan President Muammar Gadhafi. Brebesh was arrested by a local militia on January 19th in the Libyan capital Tripoli  as part of an investigation and his body was reportedly found in an hospital in Zintan (62 mi from Tripoli) the next day. HRW asserted that there was evidence of torture on the body. “ The Libyan government should send a message that it will not tolerate torture and vigilante justice, ” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at HRW. On Thursday, National Transitional Council (NTC) Minister of Justice Ali Ashour announced that the government retook a prison in the capital from a Tripoli-based militia. The Minister promised that the country’s prisons will gradually be transferred from militia control over the next few months.

On Wednesday, a gun battle erupted in Tripoli between two rivals militias seeking to take over control of key locations such as the airport. The Interior Ministry deployed forces and took control of the situation. Despite the end of the civil war with the fall of Gadhafi’s regime , the  NTC’s authority is challenged by militias. The transitional government has tried without significant success to encourage the militiamen to turn in their arms in exchange for benefits like education and job.

Meanwhile, Libya’s citizens experienced new-found political freedom as political organizations prepare for the coming parliament elections.  According to Reuters, “dozens of new parties have sprung up after a four-decade ban, offering a vibrant mix of democratic, Islamist, free market, and nationalist agendas and providing an alternative to established political movements like the Muslim Brotherhood. ”  Three major forces are expected to emerge as politically strong: Muslim Brotherhood, the nationalist parties, and secularist tribal leaders. The assembly, due to be elected in June, will draft the constitution for the country.