Alkarama has informed the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) of the reappearance of a number of victims of enforced disappearance in Libya, whose cases had previously been submitted by Alkarama. The victims were recently freed by government authorities from several secret prisons formerly controlled by armed militias.
Among the reported cases is that of Mr. Mare Salih Mohammed AL ARIFI, who was found along with several other detainees in Al-Hadika Prison, near the presidential palaces. This prison was previously under the control of Abdul Ghani Belkacem Khalifa Al-Kikli also known as Ghnewa Al-Kikli, who reportedly died under mysterious circumstances.
Mr. AL ARIFI’s case is one of dozens involving victims of enforced disappearance at the hands of armed militias in Libya. Some of these militias were nominally integrated into state institutions but continued to pledge allegiance to warlords, committing widespread human rights violations and operating private prisons outside the oversight of judicial and prosecutorial authorities.
Among these militias is the Abu Salim Brigade, established by Al-Kikli and later merged into the Stabilization Support Apparatus. On 12 May 2025, armed clashes broke out, after which government forces succeeded in asserting control over the Abu Salim area in southern Tripoli, which includes the main headquarters and most of the facilities of the Stabilization Support Apparatus. Authorities confirmed that government forces continue to work to ensure sustainable security and stability in the capital.
Alkarama reiterates the urgent need to end the human rights abuses perpetrated by armed militias, to regulate their conduct, and to ensure that all detention facilities are placed under judicial oversight. Alkarama expresses its support for all government measures that align with recommendations previously made by itself and other human rights organizations and bodies. These include recent decisions issued by the Head of the Presidential Council aimed at restoring state authority, upholding the rule of law, ending militia abuses, and assigning security responsibilities exclusively to official state institutions—primarily the police and judicial bodies.
These decisions included transferring the authority of the Facilities and Installations Security Authority to the Ministry of Interior and establishing an emergency committee to monitor the situation in prisons. This committee is chaired by the Minister of Interior and includes the Deputy Minister of Justice and a representative of the High Judicial Council. It has been tasked with monitoring conditions in prisons and detention centers, ensuring humane treatment, reviewing the legality of arrests and detentions, identifying individuals detained without legal basis or for whom release orders have not been implemented, and submitting a detailed report to the Council of Ministers within seven days of beginning its work.
Alkarama also commends the Government of National Unity for its commitment to strengthening state institutions, promoting justice and the rule of law, and ensuring the respect of citizens’ fundamental rights.