The Long-Aged Dictatorship

40 Years of Qaddafi Rule in Libya

Introduction
September 1st, 1969 is considered a new start in Libya's history
when the Libyan army's Unionist Free Officers, led by first
lieutenant Moammar al-Qaddafi, took over power after forces from
the army succeeded in overthrowing the king. The king's
representative Hassan Reda, heir to the throne, hastened to give
up the throne while King Idriss I was on a recreational trip to
Turkey and Greece. Qaddafi then made his movement's first
statement to the Libyan people.

Libya had been suffering from long years of colonization after the
Ottoman empire handed it over to Italy in 1912 by virtue of the
Ushi agreement. The Italain occupation continued till 1932 and
was faced with resistance and jihad.

After the end of World War II in 1945, victorious nations divided the
world among themselves, and Libya fell under British and French
rule where ther former ruled Tripoli and Serna??? and the French
ruled the area of Fazzan. In 1949 a United Nations resolution
declared Libya's independence and ordered the formation of an
international committee to supervise enforcement within a
maximum period of two years until 24 December 1951. Libya
became a unionist kingdom and was handed over to King
Mohamed Idriss al-Senoussi.

Senoussi sought to sign agreements with foreign countries,
including Britain, where the latter was granted broad power and
control over some Libyan areas. The Libyan people were not
satisfied with these agreements which they considered a return of
fthe oreign control they had fought long to get rid of. In January
1964 Libya was overtaken by demonstrations objecting to the
king's policies. After announcing giving up power, the king
changed his mind. Tensions and repeated demonstrations
continued until the revolution which changed Libya's name to the
Arab Republic of Libya. (1(

Following the revolution, it took Libya's new regime seven years,
until early 1977, to develop. This year witnessed fundamental
changes that pushed toward a new, different regime . Government
institutions with their traditional bureaucratic frames were replaced
by what was called "the people's authority" the declaration of which
states that the political system is based on a direct people's
authority exercised through people's conferences, committees,
unions, syndicates and professional ties, as well as the people's
general conference. (2(

The September 1st Revolution and Qaddafi's Taking Over
Power

The Libyan army's Free Unionist Officers' Movement, led by the
then first lieutenant Moammar Qaddafi, took over power on
September 1st, 1969. Qaddafi evacuated American and British
bases. His attempts to achieve Arab union failed, whether what
was called the Union of Arab Republics with Egypt and Syria, or
the union with Egypt and Tunisia.

Qaddafi became the country's leader. Without an official title, he is
sometimes described as the Brother and Leader, and other times
as the Leader of the Revolution. Qaddafi controls all the main
aspects of the country's political and economic life. (3(

The revolution tried to give it rules an Islamic character to avoid
alienating the people's religious sentiments instilled during the
Senoussi era. Qaddafi's government issued a law that prohibits
alcohol and sought to enforce Zakat (alms giving) and Qaddafi
declared his Islamic tendency. The revolution introduced a new oil
policy to end foreign monopoly of national wealth. Qaddafi
nationalized the British Petroleum Company when Britian gave
three Gulf Arab islands to Iran. He also withdrew Libya's large
deposits from the range of the Sterling pound area on 6 April,
1973.

The People's Authority, Only in Appearance

According to the Green Book which Qaddafi wrote in 1957, he
refused the idea of representation claiming that it erects a legal
wall between the people and the exercise of authority as it is
monopolized by the representatives. He presented the mechanism
of people's conferences as a soltuion to the legislative
representation aspect of democracy. Theoretically, the
conferences represent a center of power and decision making as
their decisions are taken to the People's General Conference
which makes decisions. It is difficult to estimate the number of the
People's General Conference members which range between
hundreds and thousands at varying times. Many leaders took over
the secretariat of the People's General Conference. However,
since the eighties the secretariat's main authorities decreased and
were given to the People's General Conference. On the practical
side, the General Conference is ineffective because it convenes
one week every year and its members don't have enough
information or skills to perform their duties. However, conferences
changed their decisions repeatedly when they weren't satisfactory
to Qaddafi to the extent that the 1990 Conference changed its
decision to reduce taxes when Qaddafi reacted: These are not the
decisions of the Libyan people I know! (4(

Qaddafi and the Successive Post-Revolution Freedom-
Restricting Laws

Libya is the first Arab country to prepare a historical legislative
database. The Libyan Legislative Encyclopedia consists of 40
volumes that cover the period from the Italian occupation until the
present time. Annexes are periodically added to the encyclopedia.
This historical encyclopedia was a pioneering effort that supporited
ruling regimes in some Arab countries, as was the case with the
federal system in the United Arab Emrates derived from Libya's
1951-1963 federal experiment. (5)

Since taking over power, the Libyan regime, led by Moammar al-
Qaddafi issued hundreds of laws in various areas, including laws
directly related to public freedoms and the exercise of political,
cultural and economic activities. The majority of the laws reflected
the regime's interest in protecting itself by filling gaps and and
closing the door in the face of any other opinion or power that may
compete with its authority, thus finding legal justification to oppress
and exclude others. These laws were not issued by the Legislative,
but rather the Executive Authority represented in the Revolutionary
Leadership Council. The laws were used against Libyans to
deprive them of their legitimate fundamental rights. The repeal of
the 1951 Constitution which established and embodied the state's
Constitutional legitimacy was Qaddafi's first step to tighten his grip
on the state. This was followed by supporting laws that
undermined democracy and freedom. (6)

The mentioned laws include:
Law 45 of 1972 which prohibits strikes, sit-ins and
demonstrations
Law 71 of 1972 rendering political parties criminal. An article
of this law considers the exercise of political party activities
as treason, represented by the saying: "Those who belong to
political parties commit treason!" Articles 3 and 4 prescribe a
penalty of death or no less than 10 years' imprisonment for
anyone who calls for establishing any prohibited gathering,
organization or formation.
The Revolution Protection Law issued on 11 December
1969, article 1 of which states that anyone bearing arms in
the face of the 1st September republican regime or joining an
armed gang for the same purpose shall be executed.
The Revolutionairy Legitimacy Document issued on 9 March 1990,
further suppressing freedoms, violating human rights and granting
the regime's leader immunity against any legal accountability.

Among the revolution leader's obligatory instructions, according to
an article by Sharef al-Gharyani, Secretary General of the Libyan
Union for Human Rights Defenders, is an instruction that says:
"We execute even innocent people with the aim of terrorizing real
culprits who may not be known at the moment. The locations of
those who wish to defy the revolution shall be attacked and
destroyed inside Libya, even if in a mosque. If the location is
external we have to move to its location and attack and execute
the perpetrators." (7(

This law, the Revolutionary Legitimacy Document called the "Code
of Honor" was issued at a later stage of the revolution when the
people's objection to the regime increased. It aimed to terrorize
any opposing voices by enforcing collective penalties not only
against those who commit actual acts that the regime consider
against it, but also against their relatives, families, tribes and even
close friends!
Law 75 of 1973 nationalizing independent or people's
newspapers and periodicals transferring their control
completely to the state, including the Al-Balagh, Al-Ra'ed, Al-
Horreya, al-Shura, al-Jihad, al-Ra'y, al-Midan and al-Haqiqa
newspapers.
Law 10 of 1993 concerning purging, which means
amputating the limbs of those who oppose him.
Law 52 of 1974 establishing the punishment for defamation,
meaning subjecting those accused of defamation to 80 whip
lashes.
Law 5 of 1991 concerning the implementtation of the
principles of the Major Green Document, derived from the
Green Book, the introduction of which states that the Green
Book is humanity's guide to final freedom from the rule of
individuals, class, sect, tribe and party toward establishing a
society where all are free and equal in authority, wealth and
arms and a response to the the continuous incitement of the
revolutionary Moamar al-Qaddafi, the maker of the era of the
people (9), and other laws completely unrelated to
contemporary humanity.
Qaddafi's Authorities during the Revolutionization Stage Moammar
al-Qaddafi occupied many positions that focused power into his
hands alone since the start of the revolution until the end of the so-
called revoluionalization stage in 1977. The mentioned positions
include:
Revlutionary Leadership Council President
General Commander of Libya's Armed Forces (later
Supreme Commande)
Minister of Defense and Head of the National Security
Council
Head of the Supreme Judiciary Council
Head of the Supreme Planning Council
Head of the Supreme Council for National Guidance
Head of the only political organization, the Arab Socialist
Union, and it national conference.
In addition to the above, Qaddafi was Prime Minister during
the period from 13/09/1970 till 6 April 1972. (10)
Civil and Political Freedoms Under Qaddafi's Rule

I: Freedom of the Media

The Press:

The brother, leader of the Libyan revolution presents his view of
the press in the Media section of his immortal Green Book saying:
"I personally testify that all free newspapers are ones that accept
bribes and as such they are corrupt papers."

Thus, the inspiring leader's immortal words summarized the reality
of the press!! But what about the press that we all know?!!

The history of the press in Libya dates back to 1827 when a
number of European consuls established in Tripoli the African
Explorer in French. This was followed by the first Arabic language
newspaper under the name Tripoli of the West, established by
Ottoman ruler Mahmoud Nadim Pasha. Despite the oppression
that Libya witnessed under Ottoman rule, many newspapers and
magazines were published. Article 2 of the Ottoman Publications
Law issued in 1909 entitled "every person who is 21 years old to
establish an independent daily or weekly newspaper." Libya also
witnessed the introduction of private printing presses. With the
Italian colonization in 1911 the press experienced a dark era as
military authorities confiscated printing presses. Tripoli West
newspaper was replaced by New Italy. After the end of the Italian
colonization in 1943 and Libya's falling under British administration
the press witnessed a new start on basis closer to the
contemporary press. About 20 newspapers were published at that
time due to the activities of political parties and powers. That was
activity unparalleled in Libya's contemporary history. With
independence in December 1951, although the governments of
King Idriss al-Senoussi canceled political parties, the following
figures reflect press activity. Fourteen daily and weekly
newspapers, 13 monthly and fortnightly magazines, eight English
language newspapers and three Italian newspapers were
published. Independent newspapers represented 65% of the
publications, compared to 35% government papers. In 1969, with
the September revolution and the country's falling under the rule of
the Revolution Leaders Council headed by Moammar al-Qaddafi,
revolution officers started confiscating private newspapers and
restricting papers published by unions and civil society institutions,
while establishing newspapers of a directed revolutionary
tendency. The press in Libya entered a newspaper revolutionizing
and ideology stage. It was no longer allowed to establish private or
independent newspapers. The first daily newspaper was published
on 20/10/1969 under the name Al-Thawra (the Revolution). (11)
This was followed by trying a number of Libyan journalists before
the People's Court because of their writings contrary to the
directions of the Libyan revolution. Tens of Libyan journalists were
also detained among 700 intellectuals and writers in 1973. Libyan
citizens were prevented from exercising their right to publish
private newspapers. They were also prevented from writing and
expressing their opinions which may not agree with the views of
the then existing political regimes. Such writings were sufficient
cause for detention, imprisonment and trial before courts that
lacked the most basic criteria for fair trials. In 1973 and with the
announcement of what is known as the Cultural Revolution, the
People's Authority was declared in 1977, in addition to
establishing the Revolutionary Committees Movement party
although political parties were prohibited in Libya. The press scene
had become more restricted and oppressive. (12(

Today Libya's press scene has reached a state of failure and
deteriration on the level of laws and reality. Today there are only
four main newspapers in Liyba, three of which (Al-Jamahiriya, Al-
Shams and Al-Fajr al-Jadid) are affiliated with the Public Press
Institution, while the fourth, Al-Zahf al-Akhdar, is affiliated with the
Revolutionary Committees' Movement party, the only entity entitled
to publish newspapers. Some believe that the circulation of the
mentioned papers does not exceed 4,000 copies. The circulation
of some papers has even dropped to 1,500 copies distributed
obligatorily to government institution. The mission of these papers
is to promote the ideas of the Green Book, the 1969 revolution and
glorify Qaddafi whose person and ideas can not be criticized under
any circumstances. It is also not possible to publish any ideas or
views "that contradict with the revolution's principles and
directions." Despite the massive development related to press
freedom and the independence of the media sector in most
countries, the press in Libya still suffers from complete state
(political regime) control and the absence of any margin for press
freedom, particularly with relation to important topics and issues
directly related to exercising citizen rights, practices and
composition of the authority and the political regime, and its legal
and administrative violations in running public affairs, topics freely
discussed in most countries worldwide in free newspapers, radio
and television. However, in Libya these issues are still considered
"red lines", prohibited for media and publication under the pretext
of "protecting the revolution. Accordingly, the regime monopolizes
all publication tools and decides which topics can be addressed
and which to be prohibited. (13(

The Internet

Despite the absence of any legal framework that defines
censorship and site blocking, Libyan authorities monitor opposition
sites, completely destroying them in some cases. A Libyan activist
said that all opposition sites are blocked inside Libya and can only
be browsed through a proxy. Blocked sites include "Akhbar Libya"
(Libya's News): http://www.akhbar-libya.com
, Libya Watanona (Libya Our Homeland): http://www.libya-
watanona.com
and Libya al-Mostakbal (The Future Libya): http://www.libya-
almostakbal.com. Those who try to browse these sites in an
Internet cafe may be asked to leave or worse. Another citizen said
that some sites were clearly blocked, such as opposition sites. He
believed the sites were definitely blocked by the state and that
security authorities had recently brought in a number of experts
from Russia to tighten its grip on Internet browsing.

Despite the Libyan authorities' Internet monitoring and restrictions,
the Internet has proven a definite success as an influential
medium, particularly in the case of the Beni Ghazi demonstrations
on 17/2/2006 which the Libyan authorities tried to impose an
information blockade but the Internet broke the siege on
information according to Libyan rights groups' statements. A
statement mentioned that Libyan authorities closed down a
number of Internet cafes and monitored others. Many Internet cafe
customers were detained for interrogation for visiting "suspicious
sites". Nevertheless, news about the incidents was leaked in
emails from Libya and published by Libyan opposition sites. (14)

Television and Satellite Stations

There are no privately owned radio or telelvision stations in Libya.
They are all under government control through the General
Authority for the Great Jamahiriya Broadcast Services which
prepare strict entertainment programs due to their success. Until
recently the number of television and satellite channels in Libya
was very limited, including Al-Jamahiriya, Libyan Satellite channel,
Al-Monawaa, Al-Tawasol, Al-Hedaya, Libya's two sports channels
and Al-Badeel channel. Tripoli enjoyed the majority of these
channels.

Qaddafi's nationalizing the Al-Libiya al-Mostakela (Independent
Libyan) channel and transforming it into a government channel
under the direction of the Libyan Radio Authority chairman in April
2009 due to objection on a program prepared by famous Egyptian
media figure Hamdy Kandeel which aired in March 2009 clearly
demonstrates the ease with which Qaddafi takes decisions while
claiming he doesn't control anything and that all matters are in the
hands of revolutionary committees in Libya. (15)

Publishing and Books

The call on part of one of Qaddafi's sons, Saif al-Qaddafi, to cancel
the traditional form of the Ministry of Information, considering that
its presence means there is no freedom due to the censorship on
publications and the press, was only a type of empty publicity to
his institution Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Institution, an affiliate of
Qaddafi Institution which he heads. A few days later, on 13th May
2008, Ahmed Ibrahim, who represents the revolutionary tendency,
while chairing the International Center for Green Book Studies and
Research, after affirming that freedom of expression is a Western
trick, said: "Democratic journalism is that mentioned in the Green
Book, that issued by a People's Committee representing all of
society's sectors." (16(

II: Peaceful Demonstrations and Gatherings

Peaceful demonstrations, sit-ins and strikes, as a form of collective
expression on part of different people's, professional and student
sectors were prohibited although this right was granted under the
king as the fifties and sixties witnessed a number of worker
peaceful demonstrations, protests and strikes. This completely
stopped after the 1969 revolution under the pretext that all people's
demands were or would be fulfilled by the leader of the September
1st revolution. Expressing political opinion and tendencies as
before was then considered high treason. All demonstrations
opposing the September 1st or Qaddafi's policies were prohibited.
Only demonstrations supporting the revolution were allowed to beg
for support. (17(

In 1972 Qaddafi gave an oral, then written order that was
generalized to all government departments, institutions and
companies in Libya to send employees and workers to protests
and demonstrations organized by the authorities and punish those
who refuse to participate. The same applied to various labor and
professional unions, reaching in some cases the extent of paying
sums of money to Libyan, Arab or foreign demonstrators.
According to the Free Libya website forum, demonstrators
representing various population and student sectors opposed to
Qaddafi's regime and practices who demonstrated between 1972
and 1976 were subjected to the most brutal forms of oppression.
Thousands were detained, imprisoned and tortured, some were
killed or hanged in squares and others were exiled. Qaddafi did not
hesitate in April 1984 to order Libyan demonstrators in front of his
people's office in London shot. A British police woman was hit.

In February 2007 a number of intellectuals and political activists
attempted to organize a peaceful sit-in in the Shohadaa (Martyrs)
Square in Tripoli. Security authorities and revolutionary
committees assaulted them and their families and accused them
falsely. (18)

III: Incriminating the Right to Form Political Parties

Libya is among the countries that most prohibit the establishing of
political parties. According to the People's General Conference
document (the Legislative Authority), political parties are prohibited
and anyone who practices party activities are considered traitors
and agents who seek to hinder the country's renaissance and
development. Nevertheless, a number of opposition political
parties emerged, the most significant of which was the Muslim
Group, the Libyan name of the Muslim Brotherhood. (19)

In an interview with Al-Jazeera in 2005, Muslim Brotherhood in
Libya general supervisor Soliman Abdel-Qader said: "We now
have brothers in prison. There are no brothers outside prison.
They were all detained and are in prison." (20)

To demonstrate the situation for other political powers, such as the
Left, in the introduction to declaring what he termed as the
People's Revolution on 15/4/1973 Qaddafi said: "I shall not allow
anyone to poison people's thoughts when they are incapable to
taking the challenge. This happened in the university and on the
street. Thus, I tell you that anyone we find talking about
Communism, Marxist or atheist ideas shall be put in prison. I will
order the Interior Minister to purge any group of these sick people.
If we find any member of the Muslim Brotherhood or Islamic
Hizbut-Tahrir practicing secret activites, we will cosnider them
practicing destructive, anti-revolution activities and they shall be
put in prison. There are people whom I know and whom I have
forigven. However, we can not allow them anymore to poison the
people's ideas. This means that there are people who should
prepare themselves from now because I will put them in prison."

There is a famous incident that took place during Qaddafi's recent
visit to Italy where he advised Italy to cancel all political parties
saying: "It it were up to me I would have canceled all political
parites and given the Italian people direct power. Then there would
be no left, right or middle. The party system aborts democracy."
(21)

Wasting Libya's Funds

According to Dr. Youssef Al-Maqreef, former head of the
Accounting Department and Libya's ambassador to India in his
article about Liyba's tragedy and Qaddafi's responsibility in 2002,
the Libyan regime, following the revolution has spent no less than
40% of Libya's oil revenues on hoarding weapons and military
expenses!! Abdel-Salam Jalloud, in a speech he gave in the city of
Sert during what is known as the Loyalty Day on the 20th
anniversary of the coup in early April 1989 said that the regime
had spent since the coup 22% of Libya's oil revenues (about
US$44 billion) on funding and supporting the international
revolution movement. He added that Qaddafi was not happy to
spend such a small amount on liberation movements. (22)

According to the same source, Qaddafi helped fund and support
operations and movements in over 40 Arab, African, Asian and
European countries and about 127 operations. (23)

This resulted in about 50 Arab, African, Asian, European and
American countries cutting or freezing diplomatic relations with the
regime of the brother ..... leader of the revolution. (24)

On 16 August 2009 the BBC quoted an article by David Blair in the
Telegraph saying that: "During the sixties and seventies Qaddafi
funded a number of terrorist groups, including the Irish Republican
Army." The article added that a number of leaders whose hands
were full of blood enjoyed Qaddafi's support, including Aidi Amin in
Uganda and Charles Taylor in Liberia. (25)

The Main Benefit from the Green Book: Profiting and Getting Rich
Quick

Qaddafi started writing the Green Book in 1975. Part I of the book
was published on 3 January 1976. Part I talks about what he
termed "the democracy problem the people's authority". Since
then the sayings in this booklet have become the Libyan regime's
political reference. The book consists of three chapters. Chapter 1
addresses the problems of politics and authority in society.
Chapter 2 addresses the economic pillar and offers solutions to
historical economic problems between employer and employee.
Chapter 3 addresses the social pillar, including the family, mother
and child, women and culture and the arts. (26)

The International Center for the Green Book Studies and Research
was established in accordance with People's Committee decree
1485 dated 9 October 1981 by virtue of the decision of the Public
of the Main People's Conferences who believe in the need to
dedicate the intellectual energy, strategic concepts and democratic
methods inherent in the ideology of the Jamahiriya's theory, the
Green Book.

According to the Center's definition, the Green Book is the final
result of the struggle of the people against the regimes of
exploitation and slavery, providing all the solutions for all society's
problems locally, regionally and internationally. (27)

Since the Green Book was published and the establishing of the
massively-funded International Center for Green Book Studies and
Research, the book has become a source of income and quick
wealth to thousands of Arab and international writers, journalists,
through establishing centers affiliated to the International Center or
through conducting research and studies on the book, although it
is common knowledge that the Green Book is a little more than a
children's book and no where near a serious book.

About the large financial rewards any contributors to the Center's
activities receive, Gamal Eid said: I got US$500 for a humble
lecture I gave about freedom of expression on the Internet in a
poor conference on electronic media at the International Center for
the Green Book Studies and Research. There were over 100
contributors . They paid travel and accommodation, in addition to
the high compensation. What if I had written an article that praised
this nave book? (28)

According to Ar-Riyadh Saudi newspaper, the book is full of
comments that can, at best, be described as naive. For example,
when talking about differences between men and women, the book
states: "Men do not bear children." The book also contains racist
ideas, such as when it claims that black people limitlessly
reproduce because they "exercise inactivity in continuously hot
weather." The article reaches the conclusion that "a few people
outside Libya and an decreasing number in Libya take the book
seriously. The Center tries to change the view toward the book.
(29)

The list of persons and institutions profiting from writing about the
Green Book and .participating in the mentioned Center is
horrifyingly long It includes the names of academics from most
countries of the world. Many writers, journalists and hypocrites
established branches of the Center in their countries or
participated with research papers. Writing about the Green Book
has become a more profitable profession sometimes than working
in oil countries. The Center's activities and those cooperating with
it can be accessed on its website. (30(

Libya's Policy toward Opposition

The assassination of Libyan citizens in Libya and abroad, as well
as executing prisoners continued in implementation, it seems, of
the official policy calling for the murder of the government's political
opposition. It is believed that hundreds of political and conscience
detained are held without charges, some of whom are said to have
been imprisoned following unfair trials, or remained imprisoned
despite having been acquitted or having served their sentences. It
is also said that many are detained in secret detention centers
subject to torture. Libyan exiles were subject to repeated assaults,
such as Mohamed Fahima who was assassinated in Athens,
Youssef Kharbish in Rome, while Libya's former ammbassador
survived an assassination attempt in Vienna. All this took place in
1987 alone. It was not known whether those responsible for the
assaults actions were based on direct orders from the Libyan
authorities. However, assassination incidents seemed consistent
with the pattern of attacks against government opposers that the
Libyan authorities had previously claimed responsibility for. (31(

On 17 February 1988 the Libyan people watched some scenes
from the execution of nine citizens, six of whom were hanged and
three were shot. They were said to belong to an opposition group
called Al-Jihad and that a revolutionary court in Beni Ghazy
sentenced them to death after charging them with assassinating
Libyan citizens and

attempting to assassinate Soviet experts. This took place after
Basic People's Conferences called all over Libya in October 1986
for the physical liquidation of eight persons described as God's
enemies. In his speech before the People's Conference, Qaddafi
described the executions as very useful lessons. (32(

Since the early seventies over 199 Libyan citizens were detained.
The number increase to 400 since early 1989, in addition to the
detention and isolation in an unknwon location of numerous
civilians and military personnel following the military mutiny in
October 1993. (33(

When Qaddafi announced purging operations in 1996, many
businessmen, jewellers, importers and exporters were arrested.
Qaddafi formed the "Volcano" committees from revolutionary youth
to attack food shops and confiscate goods under the pretext of
selling them at higher prices. The number of detainees during the
mentioned period exceeded 1,200 persons. (34)

Non-Libyans living in Libya were illegally detained. Following the
International Court of Justice verdict in the Hague in February
1994 settling the dispute over the border with Chad in favor of the
latter, Libya detained over 400 Chadian citizens in Tripoli alone, a
large number of Nigerians, Jordanians and Somalia for reasons it
claimed were related to work permits. (35(

In mid-1995 the Libyan Human Rights Association published a list
of 21 persons who were kidnapped and whose fates were not
known, including Shiite leader Imam Moussa al-Sadr who
disappeared during a visit to Libya in late August 1978. Libya
announced that he had left to Rome while the Shiite Amal
movement in Lebanon accused Libya of kidnapping him. Qaddafi
responded by accusing Amal movement leader Nabih Birri of
having kidnapped Sadr to replace him as leader of the Shiite
movement in Lebanon. (36(

The file of political prisoners and missing persons in Libyan prisons
is one of the most important files which demonstrate the volume of
violations committed by the Libyan state against its citizens.
Atlhough Libya signed most of the international agreements
related to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, it is one of the countries that most violate the rights of
political prisoners. Although the Libyan authorities completely
denied the existence of prisoners of conscience, Libya is full of
prisons and detention places, the oldest and largest of which
include Abu-Salim and Ain Zarah prisons in Tirpoli and Al-
Kuwaifiya in Beni Ghazi, in addition to hundres of temporary
custody centers and interrogation bureaus affiliated with the
different security bodies. Methods of torture include beating with
the hands, feet, belts, sticks and electricity wires; hanging in
painful positions accompanied by beating; the use of electric
shock; rape, sexual violence and threatening to rape detainee
wives and daughters to force them to confess, in addition to the
abusive, inhumane treatment of prisoners, such as forcing them to
drink their urine. As a result of the absence of supervision on part
of the state or human rights organizations of prisons and detention
places in Libya, tens of the families of political prisoners lose hope
that their sons and relatives are alive. They believe they died either
of torture, neglect of health conditions or killed in the group murder
incicent in the Bou-Salim prison, known as the Bou-Salim Prison
Massacre. (37(

Qaddafi's Worst Scandal: The Abou-Salim Prison Massacre

The Abou-Salim prison massacre is one of the worst crimes
against humanity. On 29 June 1996 the massacre that killed about
1,200 political prisoners took place.

The Libyan authorities committed a massacre in the Abou-Salim
prison, its largest political prison in 1996 when it used light and
heavy weapons against unarmed detainees whose only crime was
striking due to poor health conditions, inhumane treatment, torture,
humiliation and their continued detention without trial. Following
negotiations with the detainees, who had held a prison guard for
long hours, the detainees demanded to be allowed contact outside
the prison, to be tried before court instead of their continued
detention without charges, improved treatment and an end to
torture. The authorities agreed on condition that the detainees
release the guard. After the guard was released higher authorities
ordered that the mutiny end in a brutal way after the detainees
were gathered in a large yard and arbitrarily shot resulting in the
death of hundreds of them. Al-Raqeeb institution registered and
documented the full incident through one of the massacre
witnesses.

To date the Libyan authorities, despite Qaddafi's admitting to the
incident, have not taken any serious steps to address this case.
The authorities have not put any of the officers who supervised the
massacre on trial. While the Libyan authorities compensate all
Western and American victims, about 800 of the Abou-Salim victim
families still await the international community to exert all available
forms of pressure on the Libyan regime to investigate this tragic
incident, disclose the results of the investigation and the names of
those killed to public opinion, compensate the families of the
victims and punish the perpetrators. (38 (

Qaddafi and the Coercive Disappearance of Libyans

A story told by one of Qaddafi's sons may demonstrate the simple
manner in which citizens disappear in Libya and how they are
killed in cold blood. Said al-Qaddafi said that one day in 1986 or
1987 when he was in secondary school a citizen approached him
and told him the Libyan security authorities had arrested his father.
All the citizen wished to know was whether his father was alive or
dead, over 20 years after the father's disappearance. Saif al-
Qaddafi replied simply: "I have an answer now to this person. First,
your father is dead. He was illegally killed or executed, in the
woods and buried in an unknown grave." (39(

That simply! A citizen disappears, his family searches for him for
more than 20 years without knowing the fate of their supporter,
only for Mr. Qaddafi to respond that he is dead!!

It is the story of thousands of Libyan citizens who disappeared or
were killed in cold blood and were buried in the woods or in an
unknown grave. Who cares in Libya for the lives of Libyan
citizens?!!

The problem of coercive disappearance persists despite repeated
demands of the need to clearly and honestly disclose detainee
locations. Famous examples of such cases are the kidnapping and
disappearance of Mansour al-Kekhia, Ezzat al-Maqreef, Jaballah
Matar, Sheikh Moussa al-Sadr and his companions. (40)

Libyan and international human rights organizations have recorded
over 300 documented cases where Libyan authorities notified
families of the deaths of their sons in mysterious circumstances
and failed to give them death certificates or corpses. The Libyan
state also refuses to declare the causes of the deaths. Solidarity
for Human Rights Organization, Geneva, issued a list of 258
prisoners with whom relatives have lost contact since they were
detained. In some cases, the persons were detained without
charges or trial for periods exceeding 10 years. In other cases, it is
believed that even those acquitted in court remain detained while
the families had not heard any news about them for years.
Following is a list of some of the most prominent coercively
disappeared persons in the Libyan regime's prisons, believed to
have been killed in Libyan detention places, prisons and police
stations:

Mansour al-Kekhia, Libyan diplomat, prominent human rights
activist and secretary general of the Libyan National Coalition. He
disappeared in Cairo, Egypt in 1993 while attending the general
conference of the Arab Organization for Human Rights. He was
last seen on the night of 10 December, 1993 at the Safir hotel.

Jaballah Hamed Matar and Ezzat Youssef al-Maqreef, two
prominent members of Libyan opposition group The Front of
National Libyan Salvation. They "disappeared" in Cairo in March
1990. Their location remains unknown since then despite news
affirming they were delivered to Libyan authorities.

Imam Mousa al-Sadr, a prominent Shiite religious leader, born in
Iran who has the Lebanese nationality, "disappeared" with other
persons during a visit to Libya in 1978. On 1 September 2002, in a
famour speech, Qaddafi confessed that Sadr disappeared in Libya.

Amr Khalifa al-Nami, Islamic studies professor and PhD holder
from Cambridge university disappeared in the Libyan regime's
prisons since his last detention in 1984. Some unconfirmed news
says that Dr. Amr died of torture. To date, 25 years later, his family
and children await news of the fate of their father. (41)

The Exceptional People's Court

The People's Court: A political oppression tool and a court
classified as an exceptional (illegitimate) one that does not abide
by the minimum criteria for fair trials. The People's Court was
established in accordance with Law 5 of 1988. However,
amendments to the mentioned law, particularly the one introduced
in accordance with Law 3 of 1977 rendered this court and its arm,
the People's Prosecution Bureau, a tool of the regime that fulfills
the desires of the Executive ruling authority rather than a tool of
justice.

The following can be deduced from a reading of the cases that the
People's Prosecution Bureau and the People's Court take charge
of:
The People's Prosecution Bureau always tries to cover up
the Executive Authority's unfair practices through pretending
to release the defendants legally imprisoned for prolonged
periods who are brought to the bureau then immediately
arresting them again.
The People's Court circles submit verdicts before they are
issued, particularly those related to important cases, for the
approval of the ruling Executive Authority, which violates the
court's independence and neutrality.
The detention of acquitted defendants continued for long
periods of time.
The lack of guarantees for lawyers performing their duties.
The People's Prosecution Bureau prevents lawyers from
exercising their rights which consitutes a violation of the
basic guarnatees for defense before the People's Court.
Denying defense access to their clients' files which violates
the rights of the latter. The People's Court's legal rules
render justice impossible. Thus, lawyers, legal professionals
and human rights organizations always call for replacing the
People's Court with a fair judiciary capable of settling cases.
(42)
The People's General Conference on 12 January 2005
decided to cancel the People's Court. In its visit to Libya in
February 2004 Amnesty International had called for
canceling this court which Qaddafi invented to legitimize the
pursuit of his opposition. The cancelation of the court came
in response to international pressures due to its bad
reputation as an unfair court the rulings of which blatantly
violated human rights. Rather than refer cases previously
heard by the People's Court to regular courts, a State
Security Court and Prosecution were established. A short
time following the cancelation of the People's Court, a court
called the State Security Court was established in late 2007
to hear the same cases that the People's Court heard, such
as cases incriminating political party activities, revolution
protection and promoting ideas and theories against the
state regime. The State Security Court is, in short, a tool the
regime uses to defend itself by issuing laws that protect it
and serve its interests while violating laws that guarantee
citizen rights. (43)
Qaddafi and Arab and African Journalism

Qaddafi made every effort to silence voices that opposed him in
the Arab press as he succeeded in silencing them in Libya.
Qaddafi recently succeeded in suing the three Moroccan
newspapers Al-Masaa, al-Jareeda al-Ula and Al-Ahdath al-
Maghribiya accusing them of humiliating him and harming his
dignity in some articles that criticized him. The court fined the three
newspapers US$370,000, as if Qaddafi, having destroyed freedom
of the press in Libya, started directing his expertise in pursuing
Arab journalism and journalists across borders. (44)

The list of journalists pursued by Qaddafi, particularly in the Arab
world and Africa is long. It includes the following:

A court case against Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Issa, editor-in-
chief of Al-Dustour newspaper, and Bilal Fadl, Al-Dustour journalist
because of an article about the Green Man in October 2006.
Ibrahim Issa denied the accusation of having participated in
insulting the president of a friendly nation, affirmong that the article
is classified under allowed criticism.

In late 2003 Qaddafi filed a lawsuit against 14 Egyptian journalists
following a media campaign where Egyptian newspapers attacked
him after willingly giving up the production of all weapons of mass
destruction. Qaddafi accused the Egyptian journalists of
defamation and libel. Some of the mentioned cases reached
Egypt's Prosecutor General calling for referring the journalists to
criminal court. Egypt's former minister of information Safwat al-
Sherif commented at the time saying: "The Libyan government
does not object to objecitve dialogue, but objects to some of the
experssions that insult our brothers in Libya. It rejects such
practices that harm the media profession and represents a
violation of the Code of Honor of journalism." However, the cases
were soon forgotten until further notice.

Egyptian newspaper journalist Selim Azzouz and the paper's
editor-in-chief were tried for insulting the Libyan people and their
leader Moammar Qaddafo because of an article titled "Empty
Words." The lawsuit was filed by the head of the State Cases
Department in the Great Libyan Arab People's Socialist Republic in
his capacity as the legal counsel of the Libyan State. He
demanded LE1 million in compensation provided the amount is
given as a donation to the new children's cancer hospital in Egypt.
The court, however, rejected the lawsuit and obliged Qaddafi to
bear expenses. The ruling stated that the article defended
Egyptian fishermen arrested by the Libyan authorities which
accused them of violating Libyan territorial waters.

In the lawsuit that Qaddafi filed against Algerian newspaper Al-
Shorouk Al-Yawmi, an Algerian court sentenced the newspaper
manager Ali Fadeel and female jouranlist Naela Birhal to six
months in prison and a fine of 20,000 Algerian dinars, in addition to
a financial compensation of 500,000 Algerian dinars in favor of
Qaddafi, and suspending the paper for two full months. The
Algerian newspaper had mentioned in two reports published on 12
and 13 August 2006, based on information obtained from Tuareg
leaders who wished to stay anonymous, a fabricated plan that
Qaddafi had prepared to destabilize Algeria using Tuareg groups
who have separatist tendencies.

Qaddafi even sued a Palestinian news agency for having
published news about his ill health. Palestinian Online News
Agency announced that Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi
appointed a Palestinian lawyer to file a lawsuit against it and its
editor-in-chief Nasser al-Lahham for having published incorrect
news about Qaddafi suffering from cerebral stroke in May 2007.

In July 2004 Qaddafi filed a lawsuit against Saudi Al-Watan
newspaper after having published an editorial titled "The Inferiority
Complex" where it commented on Qaddafi's suggestion to change
Palestine's name to Isratine and accept Israel as a member in the
League of Arab States.

In 2004 Qaddafi filed a lawsuit before Rabat's primary court
against Moustafa al-Alawi, manager of Al-Usboa weekly
newspaper because of a caricature of Qaddafi published on the
first page following Libya's announcing giving up its nuclear
program.

In Feburary 2009 Libyan ambassador to Uganda filed a lawsuit
demanding compensation against the Ugandan newspaper the
Red Pepper. The Ugandan editor-in-chief said that Qaddafi's
lawyers asked for a US$1 billion compensation because it
mentioned he was involved in a love relationship with the Queen
mother in the Turo kingdom, a widow called Bist Kimigisha.

Murder is the Fate of Critical Journalists

Mohamed Moutafa Ramadan, a journalist who worked as a
broadcaster in the BBC Arabic service in Londonn. On Friday, 11
April 1980, after performing Friday prayer in the London Central
Mosque and while leaving the mosque to join his wife and
daughter, two persons intercepted Ramadan and shot him in broad
day light in front of worshippers and passersby. Revolutionary
Committees proudly declared their responsibility for the crime and
prevented his family from receiving his corpse, holding a funeral or
burying him in his country. His corpse was returned for burial in
London. In an interview with the Times of London dated 10 June
1980, Moussa Kosa was not ashamed to confess that
Revolutionary Committees committed the assassinations of
Mohamed Ramadan and Mahmoud Nafei. He further affirmed that
such murders would continue in Britain. In a trial that lasted no
more than 44 minutes in London, two Libyan nationals, Belhassan
Mohamed al-Masry, 28 years old, and Najeeb Miftah al-Qassimy,
26 years old, confessed to having committed such a hideous crime
"enforcing the people's verdict". Each received a life sentence. (45)

Daif Al-Ghazal. I could receive an arbitrary wound from the knife
of a prisoner who obtained the highest criminal certificates and
who was released for good behavior, a poisoned knife belonging to
a black man who had crossed the border without papers, or a
painful and strange traffic accident that I may suffer suddenly on
the streets of our stolen country or on its desert roads by a truck
driven by a high-ranking army officer!!

This was a paragraph from an article written by journalist Daif al-
Ghazal before his assassination. On 21/05/2005 Daif was
kidnapped by two armed men who claimed to be Libyan internal
security personnel on his way home from visiting a friend West of
Beni Ghazy accompanied by journalist Mohamed al-Merghany.
Daif al-Ghazal's prophecy was fulfilled. His corpse was found with
smashed fingers, tied hands and a gun shot nine days following
his disappearance.

Due to the extensive reactions in Libya and abroad to this brutal
crime, "the perpetrators" were arrested, tried and sentenced to
death in July 2007 following a mysterious trial that raised more
doubts than it eliminated. The sentence was not enforced, which
gave rise to numerous interpretations, whether those related to
threats to the defendants (there were doubts that they really
committed the crime) of exposing the truth, or due to the
announcement made by Qaddafi's son of leaving the matter up to
Daif al-Ghazal's family to accept Islamic legal compensation
(diyya) and forgive the murderer.

However, the fact remains that the crime was committed against a
journalist the same way that jouranalists who dare criticize in Libya
are punished. The smashed fingers with which the journalist wrote
was the clearest evidence.

Silence in the Face of International Media

Qaddafi pursued and sued anyone who criticized him in Arab
newspapers. However, the contrary was the case with foreign
newspapers which criticized him using stronger words. He did not
take any action against these papers as if they were praising him.

The papers include the American paper the Washington Post
which called him a dictator. The newspaper's 2007 annual report
about the worst world leaders included some Arab rulers and kings
in addition to Qaddafi which the paper described as a dictator. The
report said that Qaddafi, who reached power when he was 27
years old, spend about a decade in complete animosity toward the
United States. For a long time .Libya was listed among terrorism-
sponsoring countries According to the report, the Libyan president
stopped funding terrorism for six months in 2006. As a result, the
Bush administration decided in June 2006 to remove Libya from
the list. The Libyan regime started in recent years to reap
economic benefits for his change of policy in the form of new
investment in large oil fields and the relative openness with
Western countries. (46)

On 10/06/2004 the New York Times said that Libyan leader
Moammar al-Qaddafi approved a plan prepared by Libyan
intelligence services to assassinate Saudi crown prince Abaddalh
to destabilize the kingdom's security. The newspaper added that
two of the participants in the assassination plot, Abdel-Rahman al-
Amoudi, one of the leaders of the Muslim community in the United
States who is currently detained in the US, and Mohamed Ismail, a
Libyan intelligence office detained in Saudi Arabia, gave detailed
information about the operation to investigators. They confirmed
that Qaddafi personally approved the plot. Libya responded
through denial of the accusations on part of Said al-Islam al-
Qaddafi who said that it was "mere nonesense." (47)

In its comment on Italy's declaration that it intended to return some
immigrants to Libya on the occassion of Qaddafi's visit to Italy in
June 2009, Human Rights Watch said that this represented "a
celebration of a dirty deal by virtue of which the two countries
agreed to disregard the rights of refugees and immigrants." This
description may have jeopardized the life of any Arab journalist or
cost him his freedom or money at the best of cases. (48)

Amnesty International told Sarkozi he was receiving a "dictator",
the same expression for which Moroccan journalists were
sentenced to a fine when they used to describe Qaddafi. (49)

Qaddafi's Charity Institution and Human Rights The massive
volume of funding given to the center called The International
Center for the Green Book Studies and Research may only be
matched by the massive funding given to what is called the
Qaddafi International Institution for Charity Associations and
Development. Some estimate the institution's budget to be
equivalent to a small state or extending water and basic utilities to
all Libyan citizens deprived of these services despite the huge oil
revenues the country receives.

Iraqi poet Mudhaffar al-Nuwab's saying: "He attempts to address
all of the issues in the universe while running away from his own
issues," applies to Qaddafi's attitude.

Browsing the institution's activities on its website, one finds
financial assistance to citizens and activities in Chad, the
Philippines, the Sudan, Thailand, Singapore, . Pakistan, Burkina
Faso, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, etc.. However, Saif al-Qaddafi
who feels proud of him, is happy to make declarations -only
declarations- about his father's practices. He doesn't move a
muscle when a newspaper is closed, a jouranlist detained, a
channel nationalized or a citizen coercively disappears, while the
institution hosts human rights activities promoted by the lie of the
Qaddafi human rights award. It seems that this institution cares
only for non-Libyan human rights, while its role in Libya is
restricted to criticizing Libyan human rights organizations abroad
and attacking their reports.

Qaddafi's Titles

During the most recent Arab leaders' summit in Doha in 2009,
Qaddafi criticized the Saudi king saying: "I am the dean of the Arab
leaders, king of Africa's kings and Imam of the Muslims. My
international standing prevents me from stooping to any other
level. Thank you."

However, the titles that Qaddafi called himself in the mentioned
phrase do not include his unique titles. He collected and chose to
grant himself many titles, whether related to events organized by
one of the revolutionary committees, according to his whim or
those that denote a feeling of grandiose and uniqueness. The titles
include the following:
King of African kings
Brother leader of the revolution
Defender of Arab Nationalism
Imam of Muslims
President of the Coast and Desert Countries Gathering.
Leader of the Islamic People's Leadership
Intellectual and Leadership
Leader of the Tuareg
The Leader
Brother Moammar al-Qaddafi, Leader of the Libyan
Revolution
The Great Libyan Arab Socialist People's Republic It would not
have been logical for Qaddafi to give himself all these titles while
controlling a small country like Libya. Thus, he changed Libya's
name from the Arab Republic of Libya to the Great Libyan Arab
Socialist People's Republic to be compatible with his feelings of
leadership and genious.

Conclusion

Qaddafi's regime succeeded in 40 years in silencing any voices
that may dare criticize him and his policies, as well as any voices
calling for a real country of institutions rather than the dictatorial
forms Qaddafi invented. His silencing policy followed all available
paths and forms, starting with legal pursuit, through imprisonment
and torture, and reaching assassinations. He was helped by
Libya's huge oil revenues which he treated as his own wealth.
These policies resulted an almost complete elimination in Libya of
independent or opposition media. Libyan opposition abroad
became the biggest competitor to Iraqi opposition during the rule of
Saddam Hussein in terms of volume and influence, despite Libya's
smaller population compared to Iraq.

While Qaddafi turned into a demi-god demi-dictator, his sons
control Libya's power and wealth in a way similar to feudal heirs in
Europe of the Middle Ages.

Despite the existence of modern institutions in appearnce, such as
research institutions and ministries called "secretariats", as well as
Libya's having ratified most international human rights agreements,
the truth is that the only laws enforced in Libya are Qaddafis
desires and the only obliging constitution is the Green Book which,
at best, does not exceed primary school book level.

The role of the international community, whether by sanctions
imposed on Libya for long years, or hypocrisy to Qaddafi's regime
in exchange for the billions of dollars in compensation for terrorist
operations committed by Qaddafi's regime for long periods, in
addition to large numbers of writer, journalists and academics who
have contributed to feeding Qaddafi's sense of grandiose for sums
of money paid from the Libyan people's funds. These writers,
journalists and academics prepared fake studies about the
greatness of the Green Book or established branches abroad, in
addition to advertisements about Qaddafi's and his imaginary
achievements in Libyan, Arab and international newspapers. All
this contributed to the difficulty of Libya become a real country
ruled by institutions rather than Qaddafi and his sons.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information does not see an
alternative to Libyan citizens' peaceful and legal struggle to impose
the state of law and institutions where political parties, independent
media, the judiciary authority and the parliament are the main
tools, in addition to exposing all those who have illegally exploited
and plundered the Libyan people's wealth in Libya and abroad.
Western and European governments should stop the hypocrisy
they exercise with this regime in return for oil or commercial
contracts, as these contracts take place with a regime that lacks
the minimum credibility or legitimacy.

As for Arab governments, the Arab Network regrets to announce
that most do not differ much from the Qaddafi regime and thus it is
logical and natural for these governments to support him. Even the
secondary differences between the mentioned governments and
Qaddafi's do not change the common nature shared between
undemocratic governments, be they kingdoms or republics.

Margins
1. Following the September 1st coup, Qaddafi gave himself the
title of .....
2. Libya's name before the September 1st revolution was the
United Kingdom of Libya
3. Human Rights in Libya: Limits of Change. Report by writer
Ahmed al-Muslaman. Cairo Center for Human Rights
Studies, 1999. Page 6.
4. Human Rights Watch Report titled "Conditions in Libya",
published on 12 September 2006, page 122.
5. Previous reference (3) page 18.
6. More on Libyan law on http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/
7. Libya website (Event in Libya: Repeal of the Libyan
Constitution) dated 6 March 2009 http://www.libya-al-
mostakbal.org/articles0309/
8. Website of the Libyan Union for Human Rights Defenders.
Article by the Union's secretary general Al-Sharef Al-
Gharyani. Published on 3 April 2008.
http://www.libyanhumanrights.com/bayan21.htm Visit dated
28 July 2008.
9. Previous reference
10. Website of the People's Justice Committee
http://www.aladel.gov.ly/main/modules/sections/item.php?ite
mid=33 Visit on 4 August 2009
11. The I Am Muslim Network for Islamic Dialogue. Article
titled "Libya's Tragedy and Qaddafi's Responsibility." Dr.
Mohamed Youssef al-Maqreef, former head of the
Accounting Bureau and former Libyan ambassador to India.
Dated 4 August 2009.
12. Solidarity for Human Rights website: Journalism in
Libya: It's History and Significant Stages, 3 February 2006.
http://www.libya-watanona.com/liyba
13. Previous reference
14. Statement issued by the Libyan National Opposition
Conference titled "International Freedom of the Press Day: In
Libya There is Press without Freedom," dated 3 May 2009.
http://www.libya-nclo.com/
15. Stubborn Opponent: The Internet and Arab
Governments, ANHRI report, December 2006.
http://www.openarab.net/ar/node/104
16. http://www.libya-watanona.com/adab/
17. Libya Watanona website. Article titled Red Lines: The
Constitution and the Laws, Fawzi Abdel-Hamid, dated 10
March 2008. http://www.libya-
watanona.com/adab/forfia/fo10038a.htm
18. Free Libya website. Article titled "The Libyan Regime
Continues to Misguide and Falsify Facts," issued by The
Libyan Salvation Front, 21 November 2008. http://www.libya-
alhora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37140
19. http://www.aljazeera.net/in-depth/
20. http://www.aljazeera.net/channel/archive
21. http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres
22. http://www.libyanfsl.com/`'--/tabid/59/mid/417/newsid
417/656
23. Previous reference
24. Previous reference
25. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/inthepress
26. http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/
27. http://www.greenbookstudies.com/ar/center.php
28. Gamal Eid, director of the Arab Network for Human
Rights Information commenting on the US$500 he received
for a lecture he gave in Libya on 4 November 2007.
29. The Saudi Ar-Riyadh newspaper. Article titled "The
Green Book: Even Qaddafi No Longer Attends," 6 January
2005, issue 13345
30. http://www.greenbookstudies.com/ar/index.php
31. Amnesty International 1988 report, Libya, page 248
32. Previous reference
33. According to the Arab Organization for Human Rights
estimates on conditions in Libya, 1995, pgs 231-232
34. News agencies, 16 November 1996
35. Arab Organization for Human Rights 1995 report:
Conditions of Human Rights in Libya, page 233.
36. Please refer to reference (2)
37. Ar-Raqeeb Association for Human Rights report, 2004,
Political and Missing Prisoners in Libyan Prisons, published
on the ANHRI website.
http://www.anhri.net/libya/lw/pr041100.shtml
38. http://www.anhri.net/libya/lw/pr040700.shtml
39. http://www.gdf.org.ly/index.php
40. http://www.anhri.net/libya/lw/pr040700.shtml
41. Previous reference
42. http://www.akhbar-libyaonline.com/index.php
43. http://www.anhri.net/press/2009/pr0422.shtml
44. http://www.arabtimes.com/Arab%20con/libya/doc16.ht
ml ', =-=
45. http://www.taqrir.org/showarticlehl.cfm?id=590
46. http://www.alarabiya.net/save_print.php?save=1&cont_
id=4236
47. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic
48. http://www.aljazeera.net/News/archive