Debate continued to rage in Libya on Thursday over the fate of a lawmaker who was abducted a day earlier in the eastern city of Benghazi.
The Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, accused militias in the city of kidnapping Siham Sergewa.
Protesters had rallied in front of her residence in Benghazi on Wednesday after she refused to describe the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. All contact with her was later cut off and she was abducted.
The MP also opposed the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) operation to liberate Tripoli of terrorist and criminal militias.
She had taken part in a meeting of Libyan lawmakers in Cairo just days ago where she was reportedly threatened by pro-LNA MPs.
MPs from the Libyan parliament in the East held security forces in Benghazi responsible for Sergewa’s safety. They demanded her release and confirmed that she and her husband were assaulted in front of her children.
The GNA said this crime is a “natural consequence of the lawlessness and lack of freedoms in areas under the control of the military ruler.”
“It is another example of the attempt to obstruct the rise of the civil democratic state that the Libyans aspire for,” it added.
It urged the United Nations mission in Libya and international organizations to intervene immediately to release Sergewa and hold the perpetrators accountable for their crime.
The mission on Thursday “stresses that silencing the voices of women in decision-making position will not be tolerated,” calling for her immediate release.
