In the early morning hours, 26-year-old Islam Halab, puts on his full military uniform, including a mask that only shows his eyes, and goes to work at the citizen-led anticrime unit known as the Masked Team – in Zuwarah, in eastern Libya.

In the early morning hours, 26-year-old Islam Halab, puts on his full military uniform, including a mask that only shows his eyes, and goes to work at the citizen-led anticrime unit known as the Masked Team – in Zuwarah, in eastern Libya.

“We are not allowed to perform any task without wearing this uniform, including the mask,” says Halab. “At first, we wore the mask to hide our identities for safety and confidentiality reasons, especially since even our families did not know we were members of this team. But now, after three years, most of us have become well-known by the people in the city.”

There are strict requirements to joining the team – mainly a good track record and no previous involvement in any illegal activities that violate religious or social laws. Halab joined the group of 131 other men to protect his hometown due to the security gap and the absence of the state.

First formed in 2013, in coordination with the city’s Municipal Council (MC) and sheikhs, the team is made up of regular men from various backgounds, including doctors, engineers and policemen. The experience they have, they have gained on the job.

“Respecting time and order on the team is essential,” says Halab. “Many relevant, strict instructions have been imposed. Those who are proved to be violating these instructions and the law will be fined, imprisoned or even sacked.”

A.Q., a 36-year-old leader who asked to remain anonymous said: “The team commander is changed periodically and all members can nominate themselves. However, all members try to avoid this position since it involves huge responsibilities and pressures, not to mention the confrontations with the families of criminals, which is no easy task.”

Celebrated but difficult job

While the masked team is celebrated by the citizens of Zuwarah, its working conditions are not ideal. A. Q. recalled how a colleague came in one day during his first year of work and found his team in summer uniforms. “Will we continue working throughout the summer?” he asked. Their job was supposed to be temporary until the state took over, but it has continued for three years and become more serious and organized. “No one knows when it will end,” said A.Q.

The team has tackled armed robberies, burglary and drug dealing but it is best known for its anti-human trafficking efforts, arresting at least 25 traffickers and publishing their photos on their Facebook page and other social networking sites.

But there has been some criticism in Zuwarah based on the fact that the masked team has no official permits. “We only started our job after getting a permit from the MoI in 2013,” says A. Q. “We started our first mission on the very first day of getting it. We arrested a raft of criminals who attacked the city’s Security Directorate and set it on fire. Anyone can verify these facts directly from the MoI,” says A.Q.

Team members have no other jobs yet their pay often comes late and is also not a lot – between 500 – 800 Libyan dinars per month ($358-$572). “Once, I distributed uniforms to my colleagues, but one of them took a big one,” says Halab. “I told him have the size adjusted as there was no extra one. In private he told me that he did not have enough money. Those who spread rumors that we earn a lot of money ignore or do not know these facts.”

Now the team is affiliated with the MoI but paid by Zuwarah’s Municipal Council.

Imbalances and favoritism

“In the beginning, we worked with the state’s apparatuses in Zuwarah, especially the Police Center and the Security Directorate,” says A. Q. “A while later, however, we found that imbalances and favoritism were rampant there. Some of them did not want to have a secure and stable country in order to take advantage of chaos.”

Arrest warrants, says A. Q., were selective and based on connections and interests. Apart from some personal initiatives from some members in these services, no one was seriously interested in performing his job. That led the team to abandoning these services and working independently.

The team chose its own headquarters and equipped it with administrative offices to receive people’s complaints as well as detention cells to receive prisoners. They adopted an organized administrative structure, which includes a special investigation department. The department enforces the Libyan laws in terms of penalties. However, in some cases, it resorts to the customary law to solve some problems, especially when dealing with adolescents.

The department’s leadership, says Halab, believes that referring them to a reformatory may destroy their future. “Therefore, we punish them according to the customary law and release them after they do their time,” he added.

Constantly under threat

The work of the masked team is no easy business. They face resistance by those whose interests lie in insecurity. The team has faced conspiracies and plots, the most difficult of which was in 2013 when armed people attacked its headquarters.

“I did not expect to survive that day,” says A. Q. “I was sitting with my colleagues at the headquarters’ front gate when an RPG grenade hit us.  I saw one of my colleagues flying through the air from the explosion. We expected that the city was being attacked from outside because the grenades were coming from the south. Besides, we had not received any direct threats before.” The attack injured many team members.

The commander found out that the attack was conducted by an armed group form Zuwarah that was being thwarted by the mask team’s work. They hid near the team’s headquarters and were found and arrested and accused of attempted murder. They were released three months later due to the absence of courts and judges and are now leading a normal life.

In addition to the support of the MC and civil society organizations, the team is largely supported by the city’s residents. That was evident on October 27 when some residents staged a sit-in to express their support and demand that the team continue its work, especially for its human trafficking work.

 “Two years ago, the team arrested traffickers and referred them to the prosecution,” said A.Q. “However, they were released after they paid fines that were more like bribes and they went unpunished, which caused the team to stop going after traffickers pending needed capacities. However, when corpses started appearing on the city’s beaches recently, we had to return to address this issue.”

A. Q. refutes a report by the Wall Street Journal that the team has increased its members to fight illegal migration from the city’s beaches. “We are working on the same issue with the same old members,” says Halab. “We have arrested some of those involved and all who are proved to be involved in encouraging people to die that way will be prosecuted. We have held several meetings with all the city’s competent authorities and a committee was formed to punish the criminals with imprisonment and fines. A special prison has been prepared to host them in light of the state’s absence.”

The team has developed a clear action plan for the issue. However, it lacks some capacities and it is looking for support. “We may make mistakes and we have actually already made some. We are sorry for that and we take full responsibility. We only arrest minor criminals, while top criminal officials require serious cooperation among all and putting pressures on state institutions to activate them. We cannot do the tasks of all security, monitoring and executive services.”