Delivered Into Enemy Hands - Human Rights Watch

VI. Detainees Rendered From Other African Countries
to Libya
HRW interviewed seven Libyans with an Africa connection. In addition to Di’iki and
Madaghi, who were both initially picked up in Mauritania, and Abu Farsan (see above),
sent by the Netherlands to Sudan, Human Rights Watch interviewed four other former LIFG
members who were picked up in Africa and forcibly returned directly to Libya. In these
cases, there were fewer allegations of Western government involvement in their renditions
to Libya, although three of the four allege they were interrogated by American and other
Western agents prior to their return. 435 After a period of detention in Libya—in two cases
the detention was accompanied by physical abuse at the hands of the Libyans—three of
the four were summarily tried and convicted for their involvement with the LIFG and
sentenced to life in prison.
Ismail Omar Gebril al-Lwatty
Human Rights Watch interviewed Osmail Omar Gebril al-Lwatty (Lwatty) in Tripoli in March
2012. The following account and quotes are drawn from this interview unless otherwise
noted. 436
Lwatty is from Benghazi and was 22 when he left Libya in February 1990. He had been
working as a technician in the post office. In 1989 the Libyan government detained him for
five days for what he said were false allegations of being involved with an opposition
group. “I was definitely dissatisfied with Gaddafi, but I wasn’t in any kind of organized
group against him,” he said. “I was afraid because the detentions were so random and
widespread and they were executing people.… I felt as though I had to leave the country.”
Lwatty first went to Saudi Arabia, then Afghanistan, where he was part of the LIFG and
fought with Afghan rebels against the Soviet-installed government. In 1993 he moved with
435 We obtained the names of several other Libyans who were forcibly sent back to Libya from countries in Africa, allegedly
with US involvement. Due to time constraints, we were unable to interview them during our research visit to Libya.
436 Human Rights Watch interview with Lwatty, Tripoli, Libya, March 17, 2012.
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