Libyan authorities should
immediately amend a law that grants full immunity to former rebels who fought
against Moammar Qaddafi, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
"Libya's National
Transitional Council should immediately amend a new law that protects from
prosecution people who committed crimes if their actions were aimed at
'promoting or protecting the revolution'" that toppled Qaddafi, the rights
group said.
"This law allows
people who committed serious crimes to walk free based on politics," said
HRW's deputy Middle East and North Africa director, Joe Stork. "It
propagates a culture of selective justice that Libyans fought so hard to
overcome," he added.
Law 38, which goes into
effect May 12, states that there will be no penalty for military, security or
civilian acts undertaken by revolutionaries to ensure the revolution's success.
The law gives the
government powers to restrict a person's movement, impose a fine, or detain a
person for up to two months if they are considered a "threat to public
security" based on their links to the former regime.
Rights groups say war
crimes were committed by both sides during the 2011 conflict and warn of
ongoing torture in detention centres run by militias made up of former rebels.
Law 38 also orders the
defense and interior ministers to bring to justice Qaddafi's fighters detained
by former rebels or release them by July 12 if there is not enough evidence
against them.
Stork welcomed that measure
as "a positive step."
Other laws passed this
month, such as one that criminalizes the "glorification" of Qaddafi's
regime, have raised controversy and drawn sharp rebukes from rights activists.
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