On 18 February 2025, Alkarama submitted a communication to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the case of five Syrians who have been arbitrarily detained since their arrest on 11 December 2024, by the Benghazi Internal Security Forces.
Messrs. Ahmad Alothman, Ali Alsalkhadi, Anas Mohammed Ali Alsalkhadi, Khaled Alsalkhadi, and Osama Mohammed Sayfeddeen Alshadidi are among the millions of Syrians who fled the war ravaging their country. They legally entered Libya with valid Syrian passports and regular entry visas.
Settled in Benghazi, they worked and lived there in a stable manner. Like many Syrians around the world, they expressed their joy after the departure of Bashar Al-Assad, fostering hope for a return to their homeland. It was in this context that they participated in a peaceful gathering, before being arrested without a warrant, in the middle of the street, by plainclothes security officers.
After their arrest, their families were left without news, plunged into anguish and uncertainty regarding their fate. It was only thanks to the testimony of a former co-detainee that they were finally able to learn of their detention at the Gharnada center, the deterioration of their health, and the acts of torture they endured. Accused without evidence of belonging to a terrorist group, they were forced, under torture, to sign confessions.
Families call upon Alkarama
Faced with the denial of the Libyan authorities and the lack of official information regarding the fate of their relatives, the families mandated Alkarama to bring the case before UN mechanisms.
In its communication to the UN Working Group, Alkarama first highlighted the arbitrary nature of their detention from multiple angles.
Alkarama argued that their arrest was devoid of any legal basis: apprehended without a warrant, they were never informed of the reasons for their detention and remain deprived of any prospect of a trial. It was emphasised that this deprivation of liberty directly stems from the exercise of fundamental rights, namely freedom of opinion and freedom of peaceful assembly, as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Moreover, the victims were denied any legal assistance and never had access to an independent body to challenge the legality of their detention, in manifest violation of their right to a fair trial. Finally, this detention is based on a discriminatory basis, as their mere Syrian origin led the Benghazi authorities to wrongfully associate them with a terrorist group.
For these reasons, Alkarama called on the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to recognize the arbitrary nature of this detention and to demand the immediate release of the five victims, as well as the respect of their fundamental rights.