Libya voted against a 2010 UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, but there are no official figures on the number of executions in the North African country.
A Tripoli court today sentenced 17 jihadists to death for attacks attributed to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS), the attorney general’s office announced.
At the same time, he sentenced two jihadists to life imprisonment and imposed various prison terms on 14 others.
The nationality of the convicts has not been specified.
The 17 death row inmates were found guilty of “acts related to the Islamic State”, for “undermining the state and social peace, resorting to violence and armed action in the city of Sabratta (west) and the surrounding areas”, the relevant announcement states. According to the indictment, “they killed 53 people, destroyed public buildings and are responsible for dozens of disappearances.”
Libya has been plunged into chaos since the uprising that toppled the Gaddafi regime in 2011, with rival governments vying for power, armed militias and foreign mercenaries operating across the country.
Taking advantage of the power vacuum, the Islamic State jihadist organization managed to consolidate its presence in several regions of Libya, turning Sirte into its stronghold in June 2015, before it was finally driven out in 2016. Jihadists also briefly occupied the center of Sabratta in February 2016, before government forces retook the city.
Libya voted against a 2010 UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, but there are no official figures on the number of executions in the North African country.
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