AbuSalim Massacre

AbuSalim Massacre:A case of Extrajudicial Executions on a

massive scale, over 1000 victims

Geneva 9th December 2008 AbuSalim Massacre: The Rights of the Victims

and Procrastinations of the Libyan Regime

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AbuSalim Massacre: Background & latest developments

Content:

Background

The prison

The conditions leading up to June 28th 1996

The Massacre (28-29 June 1996)

State of denial

Official recognition

Latest developments

Rebutting the “excessive use of force” narrative

What is next



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Content:

Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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The Prison



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The Prison



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The Prison



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The Prison



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Content:

Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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On 2nd March 1988 there were around 530 political detainees

On 3rd March 1988 404 detainees were released

On 8th March 1988 a further 22 detainees were released

Around 100 detainees remained in the “Central Prison”, they were not included in the amnesty of 1988

From December 1988 till March 1989 hundreds of citizens were arrested, in waves of mass arrests.

They were classified into 3 groups: A, B & C

Further wave of arrests occurred in October 1993 (failed military coup) & in 1994 (Ajdabia)

End of March 1995, 306 detainees (group C) were released

From May 1995 to August 1998 waves of mass arrests targeted hundreds of citizens.





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Prison population increased steadily & conditions deteriorated gravely.

September 1995

The situation at the “Central Prison” the situation was:

Wards 1 & 2 were for category C detainees

Wards 3 through to 6 were for categories A & B detainees

Wards 7 & 8 (solitary confinement cells) were for detainees of October 1993.

All those “classified” as members of banned groups were transferred to the “Central Prison”

At the “Military Prison” the situation was:

Ward 1 was for the “100” detainees who remained in detention after the 1988 amnesty.

Wards 3 though to 8 were for detainees who were still under interrogation.

Interrogations were held in the compound‟s main administration building.





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Content:

Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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Friday, 28th June 1996:

A group of detainees (Ward 4) attacked the guards (3 guards) who were distributing the evening meal.

Security delegation, lead by Colonel AbduAllah AlSanousi, arrived and later started negotiations with 4 detainees representing the rest of prisoners.

Demands of the detainees were:

Provision of medical treatment to the detainees.

Improve the conditions of the prison (medical care, food, hygiene, guard treatment,…)

Access to the court system (end to their illegal situation of indefinite detention)

To allow their relatives to visit them (end to incommunicado detention)

Negotiations continued late into the night, after assurances from the security delegation, to meet the demands, the detainees returned to their cells around 2am of Saturday 29th June. Situation was resolved peacefully by negotiations.



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Saturday, 29th June 1996:

Early morning buses came to take around 150 detainees to hospitals for treatment.

Category C detainees (wards 1 & 2) were moved from the Central prison to the Military prison.

A number of prisoners were transferred from the Military prison to the Central prison.

Around 11am sounds of intense gun fire, in the “Central Prison” were heard, it lasted for about 2 hours

Number of victims unknown, nor is their fate

News of the massacre, despite the wall of isolation and secrecy, spread, and Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action on 19th July 1996 (Libya: Political prisoners in Abu Salim Prison, Tripoli -Fear for safety / Deliberate killings / Medical neglect, AI Index: MDE 19/05/96).



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Content:

Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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State of denial

The Libyan authorities, not only denied the massacre, it actually went on denying that it had any political prisoners or prisoners of conscience.

September 2000, the prison administration was replaced, and prison conditions started to improve. A new commander was brought in, who is currently in detention himself, accused of allowing the prison regulations to go too lax.

Possibly some internal review concluded the necessity to change the way these „security cases‟ were handled.

October 2000, detainees were referred to the office of the “People‟s Prosecutor” to prepare trials in front of the now dissolved “People‟s Court”, an extra-judicial court.



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Content: Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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1998 Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi appears on the political scene, establishes the Human Rights Society of the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations in December, the foundation is now called (Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF) )

2003 Libya was elected as Chair of the 59th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights

February 2004 AI delegation arrives in Libya

In February 2004, Colonel al-Gaddafi spoke to Amnesty International delegates about the events in Abu Salim Prison in 1996. This was the first time that the organization had heard official recognition that any such events took place. Colonel al-Gaddafi described the events as a tragedy. He said that one of the prison guards was handing out food to prisoners in their cells. When the guard reached the first cell, the prisoners attacked and killed him and stole his keys. Using his keys, they then opened all the other cells in the same block and the prisoners began to attack the guards, taking their weapons and killing some of them. Police from outside the prison intervened and there was an exchange of fire resulting in casualties, including deaths, on both sides. Those who were still alive were placed back in their cells. Colonel al-Gaddafi went on to say that a number of prisoners also managed to escape during these events and some even reached Afghanistan.

In a speech, broadcasted on Libyan official TV, Colonel al-Gaddafi, addressing a meeting of the Supreme Council of Judicial Bodies, affirmed the right of families to know what happened to their relatives during incidents in Abu Salim Prison in 1996.



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Content: Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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AbuSalim Massacre: Background & latest developmentsLatest developments

22nd March 2007 A law suite filed in Benghazi by a lawyer representing 20 families asking the court to compel the defendants (Libyan authorities) to disclose the fate of their detained relatives. In April, further 37 families joined the law suite.

11th July 2007 the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has found that Libya committed multiple serious human rights violations including torture, disappearance and arbitrary execution, in the case of “El Alwani v. Libya”.

24th October 2007 the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has found that Libya responsible for torture and other serious human rights violations, in the case of “El Hassy v. Libya”.

24th April 2008 Libya‟s minister of Justice revealed that his ministry “asked the security agencies to provide lists of the dead in the events in AbuSalim prison, [but] we did not receive an accurate data ”. The justice minister is head of a special commission to settle the cases of deaths in custody by paying the relatives of victims 120 K Libyan dinars for single victims & 150K LD for married ones on the condition to sign a statement affirming that they will not file law suites against Libyan officials in Libya or abroad.

27th May 2008 Relatives of cases of death in custody refuse to accept the compensation offered by representatives of the Libyan authorities in Ajdabia. The authorities tried again on 2nd June 2008, but the families refused the offer.



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Latest developments

18th June 2008 Families of victims of AbuSalim demonstrate peacefully in front of the Benghazi North Court house. Also on 26th June 2008, in front of the Benghazi North court house, on 3rd September 2008 in front of the Internal Security Agency and again on 30th October in front of the offices of the Popular Social Leadership in Benghazi.

24th June 2008 Benghazi North court ruled in the law suite filed by the families of AbuSalim detainees requiring the authorities to disclose the fate of those detainees. Again, in a second ruling on 24th September 2008, the Benghazi North Court requiring the authorities to disclose the fate of 80 detainees of AbuSalim.

24th July 2008 Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi in a televised speech declares that “investigations into the case are almost completed and soon will be brought before a court” explains it as a case of “excessive use of force to subdue very dangerous terrorists“.

6th August 2008 A petition signed by 94 families of victims of AbuSalim is sent to Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi asking him to disclose the circumstances surrounding the incident and to help bring perpetrators to justice.

18th August 2008 The Popular Social Leadership in Tripoli in a public gathering issues checks for compensations to 35 out of 38 families of victims, three families refused to accept the offer. According to news articles, the total number in Tripoli is 144 families. The proceedings, according to the journalist covering the event, were humiliating to the relatives of the victims.



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Latest developments

4th September 2008 Head of the Internal Security Agency meets representatives of the Families of victims of AbuSalim and asks them not to demonstrate in the streets.

30th October 2008 Families of the victims reveal the the establishment of a “Coordination Committee for the Families of the Victims of AbuSalim”, which accused the Judicial authorities, in delaying the resolution of the case, in a press release.

31st October 2008 Minister of Justice blames the Security Agencies for delaying the “resolution of the case”. He announced that about 70% of the families have accepted the compensation and still remain around 1000 people demanding to know the fate of their relatives.

17th November 2008, the families march from the Benghazi North Court house to the offices of the Popular Social Leadership.

19th November 2008 The coordination committee in a press release condemns the “the authorities‟ disrespect of the law and the courts‟ rulings”.



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Content: Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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As the families of the families progressively assert them selves on the scene, in Libya in the

courts and organizing set-ins and filing complaints at the UNCHR, the Libyan authorities is

pursuing a public campaign to distort the facts of the case. They are trying to explain it as a

case of “excessive use of force” to control prison mutiny.

Based on numerous testimonies by political prisoners, who were in detention in AbuSalim

prison June 1996 and were released, the following are known facts of the case:

A group of detainees, ward 4 , attacked two guards on the evening of Friday 28th

June; one guard was killed & one was taken hostage.

Negotiations ended the protest & order was restored to the Central prison around 2am

Saturday, 29th June. Situation was resolved peacefully.

Around 11am, Saturday 29th June, intense gun fire took place. Shooting took place

about 9~10 hours after mutiny was resolved peacefully through negotiations.

This is not a case of deaths resulting from “excessive use of force” to end a prison

mutiny, rather it is a case of extra-judicial executions on a massive scale. It is an

unprovoked massacre of political detainees.

No official account of the number of the prison population on Friday 28th June 1996.

No official account of the number of those killed on Saturday, 29th June.



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Content: Background

The prison



State of denial


Latest developments


What is next



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What is next

The stonewalling policy is futile, people are frustrated, even the Justice minister is exasperated.

The Libyan authorities must, immediately, end this policy of stonewalling

Establish an independent and impartial commission with full powers to:

1. Carry out a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the killings in AbuSalim

Prison in June 1996,

2. Ensure that the findings are made public and that the families are informed of the fate of

their relatives involved in those events,

3. Ensure that all those responsible are held to account, regardless of the rank or status of

the perpetrators,

4. Establish an independent and impartial body to ensure that all those families receive full

reparations.

Independent & impartial commission, means:

No influence or participation of the security apparatus, specifically the Internal Security

Agency.

The families of the victims of the disappeared must have an input & representation into this

commission, specifically in its formation

Today, some of the families have established a coordinating committee, that committee can

be a starting point.



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End note

Today we heard testimonies of relatives of some of the victims, most are women; a

victim‟s mother, sister & wife. It is the capacity of women, their patience,

steadfastness and perseverance, is behind the progressive emergence of the

families of victims on the public stage.

We have seen this in Argentina, the Association of the Mothers of the Plaza de

Mayo, the organization of Argentine mothers who lost their children during the

Dirty War, their resolve for over 3 decades resulted in the land mark decision of

the Supreme Court in 2005.

To those mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and all the relatives of the victims, we

say: you are on the right path, it might be a long path, and a slow one, but it is

the right one and by staying this course, momentum will build up. You have

made great progress in 2008, your steadfastness and commitment has earned

you the respect of all those who strive for justice. The judicial system in Libya

has not failed you, so far, and their seemingly apparent powerlessness will soon

be history, but it needs your steadfastness, and your cause will prevail.



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End of presentation

AbuSalim Massacre

Documents

libyan regime9on

central prison

detainees group c

b detaineeswards

b cfurther wave of arrests

category c detaineeswards

members of banned groups

solitary confinement