Libyan Militia Commander Facing War Crimes Charges at ICC

A former militia commander accused of directing murder, rape, enslavement, and torture in Libyan detention centers is scheduled to appear before the International Criminal Court on Tuesday. Campaigners describe the hearing as a landmark step toward “justice, truth, reparation and deterrence” for abuses against refugees attempting to reach Europe from Africa.

The case against Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, marks the first courtroom appearance resulting from the ICC’s investigation into post-2011 Libya crimes.

Legal experts said the hearing, during which judges will determine whether sufficient evidence exists to proceed to trial, represents a “huge milestone.”

“It is a really important development,” said Allison West, a senior legal adviser at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. “The is the first case in the [ICC’s] Libya investigation that has been ongoing for more than 15 years. It’s the first time we have got someone into custody.”

For survivors of abuse in Libya, the court hearing represents a moment they “never thought would happen,” said David Yambio, who was held at Mitiga prison between 2019 and 2020 and accuses Hishri of beating him.

“Now [Hishri] is in front of the court, it sends a strong message to perpetrators wherever they are that they will be brought to account and justice will be delivered, even if it takes a long time,” Yambio said.

Hishri was arrested in Germany last year, reportedly while seeking medical treatment for a family member. A senior officer in the Special Deterrence Force, a powerful armed group that operated detention sites in western Libya, the 47-year-old is accused of imposing a brutal regime at Mitiga prison in Tripoli from February 2014 until at least mid-2020.

These detention centers gained notoriety after Gaddafi’s fall as they became filled with refugees detained in Libya or intercepted by the Libyan coastguard, which has received support from the EU and its member states since 2017, while attempting to reach Europe.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have described “harrowing violations” as “the horrifying consequences of Europe’s ongoing cooperation with Libya on migration and border control.”

Human Rights Watch said thousands of detainees were held in Mitiga in overcrowded, unsanitary cells and were systematically subjected to violent assaults.

At a December hearing, prosecutors said there were reasonable grounds to believe Hishri personally killed one detainee, while a “significant number” of people died during his tenure at the prison from torture, exposure to winter conditions, untreated injuries, or starvation.

Hishri is also accused of “personally torturing, mistreating, sexually abusing and killing detainees” and imposing “prison conditions aimed at increasing … suffering.” Detainees were allegedly shot, confined in small metal boxes, and beaten with cables “sometimes for the entertainment and amusement of guards.”

Defense lawyers are expected to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction and have called for Hishri’s release.

West said the case against Hishri would shed new light on serious crimes against people in Libyan detention centers, but many alleged perpetrators remain at large. Eight ICC arrest warrants are still pending related to post-Gaddafi violence in Libya.

“One of the most significant things about this case, other than actually Hithri being in the dock, is that there are a lot of people who aren’t,” West said.

While some European countries have investigated and prosecuted individuals for human smuggling and trafficking in Libya, those cases have not included charges of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

That Germany arrested Hishri was significant, campaigners said. “One state finally … cooperated, in that they actually arrested and surrendered the suspect to the court, because there’s been many instances in the past where that hasn’t happened,” said Alice Autin, a Human Rights Watch researcher.

One of Hishri’s alleged co-perpetrators at Mitiga prison was arrested in Italy in February last year but released on a technicality and returned to Libya, sparking controversy in Italy and dismay at The Hague. “This case [with Hishri] is not against the most senior person of that prison but is … the first step in getting sort of to the perpetrators of that system,” Autin said.

Libya’s warring factions agreed to a ceasefire in 2020, but the country remains divided between the administration of military leader Khalifa Haftar in the east and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, in the west.

The Hishri case is politically sensitive. The Special Deterrence Force is allied with the internationally recognized Government of National Accord in Tripoli and nominally falls under the interior ministry.

The ICC, established as an independent international “court of last resort” for grave crimes that cannot be prosecuted locally, has faced immense pressure in recent years. The United States has imposed sanctions on four judges for what it calls their “illegitimate actions” targeting the US and Israel, while the court’s chief prosecutor is under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct, which he denies.

Yambio called for an end to European programs that support Libyan militias. “The EU is complicit in these crimes,” he said.