Rights group says eastern Libyan authorities are carrying out executions

Human Rights Watch reports that military authorities in eastern Libya have executed at least 31 people since late August. It describes these as the first known executions in Libya since 2010. The allegation matters because the executions reportedly followed military trials that the rights group considers grossly unfair.

The group accuses the Libyan Arab Armed Forces of carrying out the executions. The force is led by General Khalifa Haftar. Human Rights Watch says the trials were secret and relied on confessions allegedly extracted through torture. Many of those sentenced were arrested in Derna and Benghazi during the 2014–2018 conflict between Haftar’s forces and rival armed groups.

The reported executions are part of a larger danger. At least 50 other people held at Gernada military prison are said to face execution at any moment. Human Rights Watch has called for executions to stop immediately and for a moratorium on the death penalty.

Human Rights Watch reports that at least 31 people have been executed by military authorities in eastern Libya since late August. The figure is especially significant because the group says these were the first known executions in Libya since 2010. The report links the executions to military trials described as grossly unfair.

The rights group also says at least 50 other people held at Gernada military prison are at risk of execution at any moment. These detainees therefore represent a continuing, immediate danger rather than only a past toll. Their cases are connected to secret trials and confessions allegedly obtained through torture, according to Human Rights Watch.

Together, the figures show both an alleged series of executions and a wider potential crisis. At least 31 people are reported dead, while at least 50 others could face the same outcome. Human Rights Watch is urging the Libyan Arab Armed Forces to halt executions and support a moratorium on the death penalty.

A military trial is a court proceeding conducted under military justice rules, rather than the ordinary civilian court system. Military courts can matter greatly when they decide whether people lose their liberty or face execution. In this case, Human Rights Watch says the trials were grossly unfair, making the process itself central to the concern.

Secret proceedings limit public scrutiny and make it harder for families, lawyers, journalists, or independent observers to examine the evidence. A confession allegedly extracted through torture is also deeply unreliable and coercive. It may reflect abuse rather than a voluntary, truthful account. If such confessions form the basis of convictions, defendants may have little meaningful chance to challenge the case against them.

The alleged combination of secrecy, torture-based evidence, and execution creates a serious fairness problem. Human Rights Watch says many detainees were tried in this way before being put to death. At least 50 others at Gernada military prison remain at risk, so the concerns could lead to further irreversible punishment.

Khalifa Haftar is identified in the article as a general who leads the Libyan Arab Armed Forces. The force is the military actor Human Rights Watch accuses of putting detainees to death after secret trials. Haftar therefore appears in the report as the senior commander associated with the alleged executions.

The article gives the Libyan Arab Armed Forces effective military authority in eastern Libya. It says the force holds people at Gernada military prison and has been putting some of them to death. It also describes an eastern administration backed by Haftar, while an internationally recognised government is based in Tripoli in the west.

The article does not define the force’s formal legal powers or explain how they are established. It does show that eastern Libya is divided from the western government and that military authorities exercise control over detention and punishment there. That separation raises urgent rule-of-law concerns, especially where trials are secret and executions are alleged.

The immediate risk is execution. Human Rights Watch says at least 50 people held at Gernada military prison could be put to death at any moment by the Libyan Arab Armed Forces. If the reported executions continue, these detainees could become the next victims of the alleged process.

The danger is tied to how their cases were handled. Human Rights Watch says the army has used secret trials and confessions allegedly extracted through torture. Many detainees were arrested in Derna and Benghazi during the 2014–2018 armed conflict between Haftar’s forces and rival armed groups. The article does not provide individual verdicts or describe separate evidence against them.

Execution would be irreversible, which is why the rights group has demanded an immediate halt. It also called for a moratorium on the death penalty. The reported risk could therefore continue unless the eastern military authorities stop carrying out executions and address the fairness concerns surrounding the trials.

People from Derna and Benghazi became prisoners because many were arrested during the armed conflict between Haftar’s forces and rival armed groups from 2014 to 2018. The article gives that conflict and the arrests as the background to their detention. It does not say that every detainee had the same alleged role or offence.

This distinction matters. Arrest during a conflict does not, by itself, explain why a particular person was detained or whether the person committed a crime. The article provides no individual charges, evidence, or account of the reasons given for each arrest. Instead, it focuses on what happened after detention: secret military trials and confessions allegedly extracted through torture.

The reported result is a serious legal danger for former conflict detainees. Human Rights Watch says many of these men were later put to death, while at least 50 others at Gernada remain at risk. The group’s call for a halt reflects concerns about both the arrests’ aftermath and the trials’ fairness.

The article states that Libya has faced violence and instability since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011. It does not give a detailed political explanation for why the country developed two governments. It says only that Libya is now run by an internationally recognised government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east backed by Haftar.

That division means authority is split between western and eastern centres. In the article, eastern military authorities control Gernada prison and are accused of carrying out executions after secret trials. The text does not set out the formal legal relationship between the two administrations or explain which courts should handle these cases.

The practical effect is a weakened and divided rule-of-law environment. Alleged executions by an eastern military force, while another government is based in Tripoli, show how political separation can complicate accountability. Human Rights Watch is calling for executions to stop and for a moratorium on the death penalty.