Libyans first took to the streets to protest Colonel Muammar Qaddafi’s autocratic rule in February 2011. His response was quick and brutal: attack protesters and target civilians in a deliberate campaign to quash dissent across the country. As Qaddafi troops closed in on the eastern city of Benghazi and threatened to decimate the population in March, the Arab League called for international intervention. Despite NATO’s subsequent air campaign to protect Libyan civilians, untold thousands suffered unspeakable horrors at the hands of Qaddafi forces since the uprising began.
In June of 2011, PHR sent an investigative team to the coastal city of Misrata shortly after rebel forces liberated it. Witness to War Crimes: Evidence from Misrata, Libya (pdf) details the lives of ordinary citizens during a two-month siege and sheds light on Qaddafi’s systematic assault. In-depth interviews with 54 residents provided evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, torture, rape, forced internment, and disappearance.
Charting a new course for the country in a post-Qaddafi era requires that perpetrators are brought to justice and held to account for their abuses. Individual accountability for crimes under the rule of law is the best guarantee for preventing future human rights violations and ending a cycle of violence.
Source: Physicians for Human Rights
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