Kidnappings on the rise in Libya

A street in Tripoli, Libya, January 13, 2020. Mahmud TURKIA / AFP

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2 min

The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NHCR) denounced, in a statement, the arbitrary detention of one of its directors, since October 1.

Walid Elhouderi is in charge of contact and international coordination within the Commission.

He was taken by forces under the orders of the national unity government led by Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli.

His arbitrary detention highlights a common practice in Libya.

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The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NHCR) denounces this "

 "

detention 

and calls on the Minister of the Interior, the Prime Minister and the UN mission in Libya to release him in as soon as possible.

It holds the Tripoli government responsible for its security.

According to her, it was members of the intelligence services who kidnapped Walid Elhouderi, son of the current Libyan ambassador to France and human rights defender who

.

The Commission says it is "

" by all the abuses affecting civilians and human rights defenders in Libya.

Like many other Libyan civilians Walid Elhouderi was kidnapped without an arrest warrant, is being held for no reason, and since October 1, he has not been brought before the Attorney General.

With more than 1,600 detainees recorded in 2019, Libya has risen to the top of the blacklist of African countries in terms of arbitrary detention and disappearances.

Last March, the UN mission in Tripoli expressed its deep concern about this situation and the increase in abuses against civilians perpetrated by the armed forces with total impunity.

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• Libya