The revolution last February not only opened the door to a new Libya, it also unlocked dark secrets from the Gaddafi Era; like details about the alleged killings in Al-Bayda in 1996, which began in the Sha’abiyeh-600 neighbourhood on the 19^th of April and continued on the 29^th of June with the mass execution of 1200 inmates at the Abu Salim Prison in Tripoli, according to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch.

The revolution last February not only opened the door to a new Libya, it also unlocked dark secrets from the Gaddafi Era; like details about the alleged killings in Al-Bayda in 1996, which began in the Sha’abiyeh-600 neighbourhood on the 19^th of April and continued on the 29^th of June with the mass execution of 1200 inmates at the Abu Salim Prison in Tripoli, according to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch.

Hamad Abu Ouweisheh first learned about the details surrounding his brother’s death after the revolution, when ordinary Libyans broke into the military intelligence headquarters and found several documents, including the names of 180 people killed by security forces between 1994 and 2007.  Among the names were six Al-Bayda citizens killed in the Sha’abiyeh-600 incident.

Currently, a number of families from Al-Bayda, in northeast Libya, have submitted a petition to the attorney general requesting an investigation into the massacre allegedly perpetrated by Gadaffi’s security forces.

 Awakened by violence

Residents of Al-Bayda were awakened on the morning of April 19, 1996 by the sound of shooting and the roar of tanks, according to Faraj Al-Wahidid, whose son, Omar, was among the victims.  “At first we thought our city had been invaded by external forces,” remembered Al-Wahidid, “but we soon realized that the besiegers were none other than Libyan security forces.”  They were from the police, military police, foreign police, intelligence, the security department at Jabal Al-Akhdar and the Hussein Jweifi Security Battalion know as the “Jareh Batallion.”

The siege lasted 24 hours, forcing residents to stay indoors.  When the forces withdrew the following day, they discovered the crime committed in the home of Salah Al-Darsi in the Shaabiyeh-600 neighbourhood.  Security forces had surrounded a number of wanted persons and opened fire. 

Darsi’s two younger brothers, 10 and 16 were inside the home.  The captured told the two children to cry loudly to make the security forces aware of their presence.  Security forces stopped shooting to let the children out then proceeded to shell the building with heavy weaponry.

Six were killed and their corpses were taken to the city hospital morgue and later to an unknown location. The three wounded were taken to Abu Salim Prison.  Days later, when they went into the house, the neighbours only found some of the dead men’s clothing.

When Al-Wahidi found out that one of the killed was his son, he went to the hospital morgue to check on the body but was forbidden from entering.  The news was later confirmed.

Crime of kinship

The next day, security forces raided the city once again and arrested a number of the victims’ relatives, including Mubarak Sibai, the brother of Ali Sibai, who had been killed the day before.  A member of the attacking battalion himself, Mubarak had taken part in an external mission at the time and had therefore not heard about what happened until he was arrested.  Mubarak was detained for more than three months and was fired from his job after his release.  He received repeated death threats for being related to the “atheist” Ali Sibai, he said.

Fasai Mahud was also arrested for being a brother to the deceased Abdul–Azizi Mahmud.  He spent 52 days in prison in Ajdabiya, west of Benghazi, and also lost his job after being released.

Mohamed Ouwaisheh, the brother of the deceased Hamad Abu Ouwaisheh, said that during March and April 1996, the victims noticed they were being followed by the police; which, they had expected, as they were all members of Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiyya Al-Muqatila—an Islamic opposition group that had aimed to overthrow Gaddafi.

Even before the incident, they said their homes were under surveillance and a number of their houses were raided, searched and the inhabitants were intimidated.  Their cars and other property were confiscated and sometimes relatives were arrested and subjected to humiliation and torture.  Surveillance continued up until the massacre. 

Families of victims have had to wait years before receiving confirmation of their sons’ deaths.  Relatives of the three wounded who had been taken to prison were told they had been killed inside the jail, while the whereabouts of the bodies of the six killed is still unknown.

Justice deferred

Victims’ families are still in the phase of requesting investigations and redress.  Ouwaisheh said families know the names of certain perpetrators, but holding them  accountable has repeatedly failed because of tribal conflicts.  Families have recently  resorted addressing the attorney general.

The petitioners’ claims vary between open trial and punishment for the perpetrators, dismissing those amongst them who currently hold official positions.  Families are also trying to locate the remains of their sons in order to arrange for proper burial.  They also hope acquire redress of wrongdoing for their sons, through official statements that would declare persons murdered by Gaddafi security forces as having had goals similar to those attained by the February 17^th revolution.

But it is the activation of the judiciary, which remains the most pressing demand of the Libyan people, who insist on applying transitional justice and calling perpetrators to account before embarking on national reconciliation.