Leaked footage from Qarnada Prison in Eastern Libya has revealed severe and systematic human rights abuses, sparking widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.

The footage exposes harrowing scenes of detainees subjected to brutal physical and psychological torture, constituting a grave violation of national and international laws designed to protect human dignity. 

According to reports, detainees endure severe beatings with sticks and whips, electric shocks to sensitive areas, forced stress positions, and deprivation of food, water, and sleep. They are also denied contact with their families or legal representation, reflecting dire and inhumane detention conditions. 

Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) has strongly condemned these atrocities. Reports link individuals from Khalifa Haftar’s forces to the violations, with activists presenting medical documents and testimonies corroborating the crimes. Similar patterns of abuse have been documented by organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in other prisons under Haftar’s control. 

These practices represent blatant violations of Libya’s domestic laws, including Law No. 10 of 2013, which prohibits torture and enforced disappearances, as well as international treaties like the Convention Against Torture, ratified by Libya in 1989. 

WJWC has called for urgent action, demanding an independent international investigation under United Nations supervision to uncover the full scope of these violations and to hold those responsible accountable under both national and international law. 

The organization stresses the immediate need to release arbitrarily detained individuals, ensure fair trials, or dismiss fabricated charges. It also advocates for transparency by granting human rights organizations access to prisons to monitor conditions and ensure compliance with humanitarian standards. 

Additionally, WJWC underscores the necessity of improving detention conditions by providing detainees with adequate medical care, nutrition, and humane treatment. The organization calls on Libyan authorities to take swift and decisive measures to address these violations, uphold the rule of law, and restore justice and human dignity.

Released by:

Women Journalists Without Chains

January 14, 2025