In the second part of his interview with Correspondents, Essam al-Mawi, chairman of the National Council for Liberties and Human Rights in Libya, addressed  the conditions in Libyan prisons.

The council has noticed there is reluctance among voters to participate in the elections of the body that will draft the constitution, which could hinder the democratic transition. What is the reason for this reluctance? And does the same apply to the parliamentary elections?

In the second part of his interview with Correspondents, Essam al-Mawi, chairman of the National Council for Liberties and Human Rights in Libya, talked about the conditions in Libyan prisons.

The council has noticed there is reluctance among voters to participate in the elections of the body that will draft the constitution, which could hinder the democratic transition. What is the reason for this reluctance? And does the same apply to the parliamentary elections?

The main cause could be the frustration felt by people because of the lack of any improvement in the political, economic, and security situation. This has clearly caused frustration among the Libyans. This is not a healthy situation. The most important factor that would allow us to overcome this is the strong and effective popular turnout to elect a political leadership capable of adopting developmental projects, projects aimed at leading us from the transitional phase to the permanent phase.

Have you called on the constitution commission to include articles protecting human rights?

I had a short meeting with Ali al-Tarhouni, the head of the constituent body, and we agreed to hold a longer meeting to submit the council’s proposals on the chapter related to public freedoms and human rights.

Does the council visit prisons, which are under the control of the Justice Ministry?

Yes. To be fair, the Ministry of Justice is making great efforts to put these prisons under the authority of the state. But these efforts are going very slowly and the conditions inside Libyan prisons are not good – the conditions are not up to the acknowledged international standards in this regard. The health of prisoners is deteriorating and there are many prisoners who spent long periods of detention without trial or without being transferred to the general prosecution for investigations. Frankly, it is a clear violation of human rights when a person is imprisoned for three years without charge. In spite of the role played by the Ministry of Justice, the situation has not satisfactorily improved.

Do you believe that the prisons’ administration needs rehabilitation and increased awareness?

Yes, this is right. Those in charge of prisons and prisons’ administrations and their staff need rehabilitation and awareness on human rights issues and the respect of prisoners’ rights. This needs time and effort by the concerned national institutions and it requires international technical assistance. I think that the Justice Department has concluded agreements in this regard. The National Council for Liberties and Human Rights, together with its international partners, is seeking to create an expanded program for training prison administrators.

What are the efforts made to reveal the fate of “disappeared” people?

Under the prevailing security conditions in the country and the absence of state authority, we haven’t been able to discover the fate of many people. But we are still following-up on their cases.

Are you satisfied with the performance of the government regarding the file of the internally displaced persons, especially the Tawergha refugees?

The council is not happy with the government performance regarding the refugees file. There are huge amounts of money spent on this file but with no results whatsoever. There are clear shortfalls and the Libyan state should respect its obligations towards its citizens at home and abroad.

This is a very sensitive file and it is detrimental to Libya’s image after the revolution. It should be considered in terms of human rights and an end to this tragedy should be reached as soon as possible.

You have issued two statements on the killing of human rights activist Salwa Boukaiqis. What details do you have on this crime, which has troubled Libyan people?

The murder of freedom fighter and comrade Salwa Boukaiqis is very sad. It is a heinous crime in all of its details and I think that those who assassinated martyr Salwa Boukaiqis wanted to kill the image of the mature and strong woman capable of participating in public affairs and carrying its burdens.

The case is surrounded by many mysteries. The assassination of the only witness in this case has increased ambiguity and confusion. Preliminary information indicates that he died under torture while he was at the police station. The council is constantly following-up on the case and we addressed the Attorney General and stressed the need to initiate investigations into the incident. Justice should be achieved to all victims of assassinations, and I’m sure that regardless of the time needed, we will sooner or later be able to reveal the truth.

What about the case of martyr Abdel-Salam al-Mismari? Sadiq as-Sour, head of the attorney general’s investigations department, complained that the file consists of only two pages; one of them is a phone communication on the killing, the forensic medicine procedure, and the burial permit?

The council has no details on this incident because it is still being investigated by the public prosecutor, but we do know that there are some deficiencies in the investigations in Benghazi as a result of the security conditions. This issue should be addressed by the government and this horrible government silence is not acceptable. Now there are hundreds of assassination cases and no investigations were initiated in a legally satisfactory way which would lead to identifying perpetrators.

I would like here to draw attention to a very important issue. The National Council for Public Freedoms and Human Rights has asked Abdulkarim Sadiq, the former interior minister, more than once, to implement the commitments he made in August 2013 when he said that the Interior Ministry knows the perpetrators and it will bring them to justice. We officially ask the Interior Ministry to disclose these details to the public opinion and let people know what is going on, specifically in Benghazi. This does not affect the confidentiality of the investigations because these crimes were committed a long time ago.