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Libya: Condemned by UN Human Rights Committee for Enforced Disappearance of Abdelhamid Al Daquel

During its 111th session in July 2014, the Human Rights Committee issued an opinion on the case of Abdelhamid Al Daquel, considering that his enforced disappearance in June 1996 was due to a series of violations by Libya of its international obligations. On 5 May 2009, Alkarama had submitted a communication to the Human Rights Committee (CCPR) regarding the disappearance of Abdelhamid Al Daquel, whose family had not heard from him since his arrest on 26 January 1989, despite all the steps taken by his father towards the authorities, which were left unanswered.

Systematic human rights violations of have been committed in Libya for many years, in total impunity. Under the former regime of Muammar Gaddafi, arrests, arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances were common practices to repress opposition and silence dissent.

On 26 January 1989 Abdelhamid Al Daquel, a former pilot of the Libyan army, was arrested by agents of the Libyan Internal Security in Foum Molghat, near Tarhouna, without any arrest warrant. He was then taken to an unknown destination with three other people who were with him at the time of his arrest.

It was not until six years later, in 1995, when one of his fellow prisoners was released, that his family learned that he was still alive, and that he was detained at Abu Salim prison. However, his family was never allowed to visit him as the authorities kept on denying his detention.

On 8 November 2008, 19 years later, his family was informed of his death by agents of the Internal Security, who refused to give them more details. It is only after receiving his death certificate that his parents learned that their son's death was dated 23 June 1996, the same day of the tragedy of Abu Salim, one of the largest prisoners' massacres in modern history, which claimed over 1,200 lives.

Despite the issuance of the administrative certificate, Al Daquel's family still expresses doubts about the date and actual circumstances of his death, believing that the events at Abu Salim could have been used as a pretext to justify many unexplained deaths, including those of victims of torture and summary executions.

The Committee repeatedly requested Libya to submit its observations on the complaint presented by Alkarama, but it did not see fit to provide an answer.

In accordance with its jurisprudence, the CCPR estimates that Al Daquel's enforced disappearance is a clear violation by Libya of several fundamental rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the right to life, to freedom and that of not being subjected to torture.

Alkarama welcomes the UN Human Rights Committee's new decision of and calls on the Libyan authorities to implement it, in accordance with its obligations and to "conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the disappearance and death of Abdelhamid Al Daquel, provide his family with details of the inquiry's results, return the remains of Abdelhamid Al Daquel to his family, prosecute, try and punish those responsible for the violations and take all the possible measures to prevent the perpetuation of similar violations."

The CCPR attaches a great importance to the implementation of the Covenant by States parties, which are required to establish appropriate judicial and administrative mechanisms to address complaints relating to human rights violations. In its Comment No. 31 (2004), it recalls "the nature of the general legal obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant", adding that, "A failure by a State Party to investigate allegations of violations could in and of itself give rise to a separate breach of the Covenant."

It is also interesting to note that, in this decision, the CCPR experts considered that the psychological consequences caused to a family in the case of the disappearance of one of their relative may be considered a violation of Art. 7 of the Covenant and thus represent an act of torture.

Libya has a period of six months to inform the Committee of the measures taken to implement its findings. It should also make them public and widely available in the official languages of the State party.

For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1007 Ext: 810)