Unidentified gunmen assassinated the lawyer and human rights activist Hanan al-Barasi in the city of Benghazi, eastern Libya, and fired about 30 bullets at different parts of her body in the city center.

Sources in Benghazi confirmed to Al-Jazeera that the masked gunmen tried to kidnap the activist inside one of the stores, before they shot her and fled in two darkened cars.

Activists on social media circulated a video recording that shows the body of the victim covered in the middle of the public street, in the place where she was assassinated.

The lawyer had appeared several times in a live broadcast on her Facebook page, calling on retired Major General Khalifa Haftar to limit the expansion of the influence of his son Saddam and calling on him to control what she describes as the armed militias loyal to him, which control Benghazi.

Rights groups said that al-Barassi, who was openly critical and public of violations in eastern areas controlled by Haftar's forces, was shot dead in a public place.

The Benghazi Security Directorate confirmed in a statement that investigations are underway to find out the perpetrators after hearing the statements of witnesses and tracking down the surveillance cameras that were present in the crime scene area, and the directorate stated that it is tracking the perpetrators and will not stop until they are caught and brought to justice.

For her part, Hanan Salah, a Libya researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that the news of the assassination of the lawyer in Benghazi is frightening and chilling, and reminds of other such crimes that no one has punished for.

In a tweet, the researcher called on the authorities in the east to quickly investigate and hold the perpetrators accountable.

For its part, Amnesty International (Amnesty) said that Al-Barassi and her daughter were subjected to death threats, and indicated that a page on a communication site made it clear on Monday that it intends to publish a video that exposes the corruption of the Haftar family.

Al-Barasi is known for her stances against officials in eastern Libya and accuses them of corruption and illicit wealth, and she was kidnapped last March, because of her appearance in a video on social media in which she criticized Haftar and his policy in Benghazi, before he was released.