UN voices concern over arbitrary arrest of Libyan bank official

 

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Thursday expressed concern over the arbitrary arrest of a bank official by an armed group in the capital Tripoli.

“UNSMIL is concerned about the safety of Mr Abdul Khaliq Mohamed Misbah Ibrahim, a Libyan Foreign Bank official who was arbitrarily arrested in central Tripoli, on 9 February 2021, allegedly by an armed group. Mr Ibrahim’s whereabouts remain unknown,” UNSMIL said.

UNSMIL called on judicial authorities to “immediately intervene and release Mr Ibrahim or to produce him before a competent court without delay, in line with Libya’s national and international human rights obligations.

The mission also urged the new Government of National Unity to prioritize the release of all persons illegally detained in the country, both in official detention centers and in secret facilities run by armed groups.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and insecurity ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.