UNSMIL Demands Immediate Release of All Persons 'Arbitrarily' Detained in Libya

Libyans playing backgammon in the old city of Tripoli. (Reuters)
Libyans playing backgammon in the old city of Tripoli. (Reuters)
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UNSMIL Demands Immediate Release of All Persons 'Arbitrarily' Detained in Libya

Libyans playing backgammon in the old city of Tripoli. (Reuters)
Libyans playing backgammon in the old city of Tripoli. (Reuters)

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has called for the immediate release of all individuals who have been arbitrarily detained in the country.

“All arrests and detentions must be based on the rule of law, in line with Libya’s human rights obligations,” UNSMIL stated in a tweet on Friday.

It also welcomed the recent releases of Faisal Gherghab, former head of the Libyan Post Telecom and Info Technology Company, Mohammad al-Qiblawi, head of the General Union of Libya Students, and Mansour Atti, head of the Libyan Red Crescent Society in Ajdabiya.

Libyan police forces have recently arrested a number of political and human rights activists, prompting international condemnations and demands for authorities to release the detainees and activate the rule of law.

Chargé d’Affairs of the United States embassy in Libya Leslie Ordman welcomed the release of several Libyans who were arbitrarily arrested.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for his part, underlined the importance of human rights as part of the bilateral relationship between the US and Libya.

On January 10, the Deterrence Anti-Organized Crime and Terrorism Apparatus arrested Gherghab, while the police in Tripoli arrested other human rights activists on various charges.

Last week, the security apparatus also arrested 218TV correspondent Ali Al-Rifawi in Sirte city, in central Libya.

The Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) in Libya expressed concern about Rifawi’s arbitrary arrest, stressing that he was detained “without any legal basis.”

The organization called for his immediate and unconditional release to fulfil Libya’s international obligations.

AOHR sources indicated that the reporter was arrested while covering the municipality work and reporting the suffering of citizens.

It said that detaining Rifawi for criticizing the local authorities “constitutes a restriction on freedom of expression and violates Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Reporters Without Borders has demanded the immediate release of Rifawi, who has been detained since March 26.

In a tweet on its official page, the organization held the Internal Security Agency responsible for his kidnapping, while referring to the harsh conditions that journalists are subjected to in the country.



Israeli Officials Signal They Want UN to Remain Key Gaza Aid Channel, Says Senior UN Official

 Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
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Israeli Officials Signal They Want UN to Remain Key Gaza Aid Channel, Says Senior UN Official

 Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)

Israeli officials have signaled they want the United Nations to remain the key avenue for humanitarian deliveries in Gaza, the deputy head of the World Food Program said on Friday, noting the work of a controversial US aid group was not discussed.

"They wanted the UN to continue to be the main track for delivery, especially should there be a cease fire, and they asked us to be ready to scale up," Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN food agency, told reporters on Friday after visiting Gaza and Israel last week.

The US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas said on Wednesday that the flow of aid was one of the sticking points.

Israel and the United States have publicly urged the UN to work through the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning the group's neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.

Skau said he met with Israeli authorities at different levels last week and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation "did not come up in those conversations."

"I think there were rumors of the UN being pushed out, but it was very clear in my engagement that they want the UN to continue to be the main track in delivery," Skau said.

DEATHS

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume.

The GHF launched its operation, using private US security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, a week later.

The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded 615 deaths near GHF sites and 183 deaths "presumably on the route of aid convoys" operated by the UN and other relief groups.

The GHF has repeatedly said there have been no deaths at any of its aid distribution sites. The group said on Friday that it has so far delivered more than 70 million meals in Gaza.

The US State Department has approved $30 million in funding for the GHF, which touts its model as "reinventing aid delivery in war zones."

Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the group denies.

Throughout the conflict, the United Nations has described its humanitarian operation in Gaza as opportunistic - facing problems with Israel's military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza, and looting by armed gangs.

But the UN has said its aid distribution system works, and that was particularly proven during a two-month ceasefire, which Israel abandoned in mid-March.

The UN said it got 600-700 trucks of aid a day into Gaza during the truce and has stressed then when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides.