The Public Prosecution in Libya decided to imprison one of the leaders of the “Al-Kaniyat” faction accused of killing 22 residents of Tarhuna, according to what the Public Prosecutor’s Office announced today, Saturday.
This step comes within the framework of intensive investigations conducted by a specialized committee to look into the violations attributed to this group.
The accused, known as “F.L.,” was arrested by the Stability Support Service southwest of Tripoli, and he confessed during investigations to committing 22 murders since joining the faction, which led to the decision to detain him pending investigation.
The “Kaniyat” factions controlled Tarhuna until 2020, during which many violations were committed against the population, including murder, torture, and enforced disappearance, which led to renewed demands from the families of the victims and the international community for the need to hold those responsible accountable.
Last June, the Tripoli Criminal Court sentenced another member of Al-Kaniyat to death by firing squad for his involvement in killing a citizen and committing serious violations.
In July 2022, the UN fact-finding mission revealed that there were “reasonable reasons” indicating that the aforementioned faction had committed crimes against humanity in Tarhuna.
The “Al-Kaniyat” faction is an armed group that appeared in 2012, took control of Tarhuna in 2015, and withdrew from it in June 2020. The city of Tarhuna is located in northwestern Libya, about 90 kilometers south of Tripoli, and 50 kilometers east of the city of Misrata.
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