Background on Detention Facilities
Libyan authorities have struggled to maintain security at state-run detention facilities, against a background of repeated mass escapes. In March 2013, some 50 inmates escaped from Sebha prison in southern Libya, followed by the escape of 170 more in April, after a riot at the prison. In July, more than 1,200 detainees escaped from al-Kuweifiah prison during riots in Benghazi. In August, armed men secured the escape of 18 detainees when they attacked the convoy taking them from prison to a court in Tripoli.
In his meeting with Human Rights Watch, Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani voiced concern about general security conditions and the possibility of further violence in prisons. As key constraints he cited the lack of judicial procedures, weak safeguards for detainees, lawyers and judges, and poor training and the lack of equipment for the judicial police. He said his ministry was creating a special force of 1,000 highly trained judicial police officers to oversee the security of detention facilities and to counter escalating tensions but such changes required time and “events are overtaking us.”
Legal Standards
All detainees should be charged or released within a reasonable time. All those facing criminal charges have the right to be informed of the nature and cause of each charge against them and be brought promptly before a judge.
Arbitrary detention is strictly prohibited under international law. Arbitrary detention can amount to a crime against humanity if it is widespread or systematic, and carried out as the policy of the state, or the policy of an organized group such as a militia.
Security forces, including prison guards, should abide by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Human Rights Watch said. The principles call upon law enforcement officials to “minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life” and to use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life:
Principle 15: Law enforcement officials, in their relations with persons in custody or detention, shall not use force, except when strictly necessary for the maintenance of security and order within the institution, or when personal safety is threatened.
Principle 16: Law enforcement officials, in their relations with persons in custody or detention, shall not use firearms, except in self-defence or in the defence of others against the immediate threat of death or serious injury, or when strictly necessary to prevent the escape of a person in custody or detention presenting the danger referred to in principle 9.
The Basic Principles require governments to ensure an effective review process is available on possible unlawful use of force or firearms by law enforcement officials, and that independent administrative or prosecutorial authorities are in a position to exercise jurisdiction in appropriate circumstances.
(Source: Human Rights Watch)
