Libyan Journalist Ali al-Riwafi Has Been in Detention Since March
On March 26, 2022, Libyan journalist Ali al-Riwafi was arrested and detained by units with the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF). Al-Riwafi was reportedly driving in Sirte city when LAAF members forcibly stopped and arrested him. He is being held in an unknown location, and has not yet appeared before an official prosecutor to face charges.
Ali al-Riwafi. (@218news/Twitter)
Al-Riwafi was detained after the mayor of Sirte filed a complaint against him for covering corruption in Sirte city. He often covers corruption and human rights issues–for example, he wrote a piece in which he covered families demanding compensation for the deaths of loved ones in the NATO-led military invasion of 2011. This intersection made him a large target for Libyan authorities. Nine others were detained along with Al-Riwafi in connection to a protest in Sirte, a move that was swiftly condemned by human rights groups.
“The arbitrary detention of these peaceful protesters for demanding justice and reparation in connection to the 2011 armed conflict shows just how intolerant LAAF and affiliated armed groups are of any independent activism, even if not critical of their rule. The LAAF must immediately ensure the release of all those detained simply for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and expression,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
She added: “The LAAF and its affiliated armed groups have tightened their grip over territory under their control. In the past few years, suspected opponents and critics have either been gunned down in the street, forcibly disappeared or are languishing in jail. Yet, ISA in eastern Libya continues to be on the government payroll, instead of being held to account.”
The LAAF and Libya’s Internal Security Agency (ISA) have ignored repeated requests for comment from several different organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Amnesty International.
CPJ has called for al-Riwafi’s immediate release. “The Libyan Arab Armed Forces’ arrest of journalist Ali al-Rifawi and refusal to disclose his current location for almost a month shows the extent to which authorities are willing to go to muzzle journalists covering local events,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Authorities must immediately and unconditionally release al-Rifawi and refrain from arresting journalists who are just doing their jobs.”
According to RSF, since the 2014 popular uprising, press freedoms in Libya have been in freefall. “The political rivals in east and west continue their endless power struggle, while the actions of armed militias aggravate the situation, destabilising the political landscape and undermining the rule of law. This has taken a heavy toll on journalists and media for years, with many cases of censorship, violence and intimidation reported,” the organization notes in a profile about the ongoing political climate in the Northern African country.
Data compiled by RSF shows that there have been at least 12 attacks against independent journalists and a further 11 against news outlets, including: extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and acts of intimidation.
Libya has no laws guaranteeing the public’s right to seek out information. Violence is encouraged in that abuses against journalists go completely unpunished, and independent foreign journalists are unable to visit and report due to the sheer amount of violence perpetrated and encouraged by agents of the state. The warring factions have also intimidated journalists into working for them, controlling the flow of all information put out in the areas they control. According to RSF, not one single act of violence reported against a member of the media since 2014 has even been brought to trial.
