HRW reports Libyan's death from torture

A Libyan diplomat who served as ambassador to France died less than 24 hours after he was detained by a Tripoli-based militia from the town of Zintan, global human rights campaign group Human Rights Watch said today. Dr. Omar Brebesh, who was detained on January 19, 2012, "appeared to have died from torture" said the group.  A preliminary autopsy report viewed by the organisation said the cause of death included multiple bodily injuries and fractured ribs. Photos of Brebesh’s body, seen by Human Rights Watch, showed welts, cuts, and the apparent removal of toenails, apparently indicating that he was tortured prior to death. Human Rights Watch also read a report by the judicial police in Tripoli, which said that Brebesh had died from torture and that an unnamed suspect had confessed to killing him. “The torture and killing of detainees is sadly an ongoing activity by some Libyan militias,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These abusive militias will keep torturing people until they are held to account. Libya’s leaders should show the political will to prosecute people who commit serious crimes, regardless of their role in the uprising.” A Zintan prosecutor has opened an investigation into Brebesh’s death. Brebesh, 62, served in the Libyan embassy to France from 2004 to 2008, first as cultural attaché, and then as acting ambassador for the last nine months of his tour. He continued work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Gaddafi government during the 2011 uprising. He was working as a lawyer at the ministry in Tripoli under the post-Gaddafi transitional government at the time of his death. An official at the ministry told Human Rights Watch that he saw Brebesh at work 10 days before his death, and he appeared to be in good health.  According to Brebesh’s son Ziad, on January 19, his father voluntarily submitted to an investigation by the Al-Shohada Ashura militia at their base in the Tripoli neighborhood of Crimea. Brebesh had been called there for questioning by Commander Khalid Al-Blehzi.  Brebesh entered the base at 5.30pm, said Ziad, who escorted his father. Ziad said he stayed inside for tea before being told to wait outside for the interrogation. After about 45 minutes, militia members took Ziad away to retrieve one of the family cars and a firearm. He returned later that night but was prevented from entering the area where his father was being interrogated.  The next day, January 20, following a visit to the Al-Shohada Ashura base, the family heard that Brebesh’s body had appeared at a hospital in Zintan, about 100km southwest of Tripoli. Ziad’s brother Muhammad went there in the evening and described what he saw:  "I saw his face. There was blood on his nose and mouth. But I didn’t see the rest of his body or his face from the other side. There was a bump on his forehead. After that, I kissed him and that was it. Later, when we saw the other side of his face at the hospital in Tripoli, it looked like his jaw was broken, like his face was not in the right place." According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Libya currently has about 8,500 detainees in roughly 60 facilities. The majority of these facilities are run by militias.  On January 26, the humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontières announced that it had suspended its work in Misrata detention centers, citing torture and abuse there.