Amnesty International on Oct. 3 urged the self-proclaimed Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) to reveal the whereabouts of former defense minister al-Mahdi al-Barghathi and 18 of his relatives and supporters who were abducted in Benghazi, the principal LAAF stronghold, one year ago. Al-Barghathi, who served as minister of defense from 2016 to 2018, strongly condemned the LAAF offensive on Tripoli from April 2019 to October 2020. On Oct. 7, 2023, after his return to his hometown of Benghazi, he and 38 of his family and supporters were abducted by LAAF followers. Some of them have been released, and six are reported dead, including the son of al-Barghathi. But the fate and whereabouts of the other 19 remain unknown. There are suspicions that some of them may have been extrajudicially executed.

Al-Barghathi himself has also been reported to be dead. However, his family as never received his body, and demands that the LAAF disclose the burial site and identify his remains through DNA testing.

According to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), enforced disappearance is defined as the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by state actors, as well as the concealment of information about the fate of the disappeared person. Each state party to the convention has the obligation to investigate (Art. 3) and take the necessary measures to hold criminally responsible those who commit, participate in or are responsible for an enforced disappearance (Art. 6). State parties' legal codes must recognize enforced disappearance as a crime (Art. 4) and establish penalties appropriate to the crime, taking into account its gravity (Art. 7).

The LAAF, led by Khalifa Haftar, have formed an unrecognized de facto state in the east of the country that claims control over Libya's sovereign institutions and economy. As it is performing governmental duties, it must comply with international humanitarian and human rights law.

From Jurist, Oct. 3. Used with permission.

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