One inmate who sustained gunshot injuries told Human Rights Watch that prison guards handcuffed and beat him and other wounded detainees as they were evacuated to the clinic at Ayn Zara prison.
Inmates told Human Rights Watch that security forces used several types of firearms, including Kalashnikov assault rifles and 9 mm shotguns, and drove 14.5 mm caliber anti-aircraft weapons into the prison courtyard to intimidate them.
One female inmate told Human Rights Watch that the section of the prison in which she was held saw no violence but was affected by the tear gas. “Prison authorities seemed overwhelmed and did not know what to do,” she said. “We stayed inside our section the whole day, we did not even open the door to get our lunch, we were too afraid.”
Prison authorities told Human Rights Watch that they called in additional security forces to secure the “outside perimeters of the prison” but denied that anyone other than judicial police officers entered the facility or were involved in quelling the protest. They insisted that officers did not shoot directly at detainees and used only rubber-coated bullets once tear gas had failed to disperse the protesting prisoners.
Arbitrary Detention and Ill-treatment
All of the inmates that Human Rights Watch interviewed pointed to a lack of judicial reviews or other legal procedures to resolve their cases as the principal cause of the hunger strike. One detainee from Sirte said that he had been detained since August 23, 2011 but had yet to be taken before a judge or to be informed of any charges against him.
Anyone who is detained without prompt judicial review is a victim of arbitrary detention. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that the right to judicial review of detention is a fundamental right that cannot be removed even during an emergency. The Libyan authorities should ensure that all detainees are promptly brought before a judge or judicial body to review the legality of their detention. If their detention is not lawfully justified, they should be released immediately. Only those against whom there is evidence of their involvement in committing crimes should be charged, Human Rights Watch said.
Some of the inmates who spoke to Human Rights Watch complained of ill-treatment by guards at al-Roueimy prison prior to the protest. They alleged that guards had threatened detainees with dogs for minor breaches such as smoking cigarettes. One inmate exposed his back to show what he said were welt marks he had sustained during beatings by prison guards. Others accused guards of threatening and insulting prisoners, particularly with the “honor” of their female relatives.