On 1 May, the Supreme Council of Sufism in Libya announced that the body of 64 year old Omar Aqila al Farsi al Agouri was found in Benghazi after he had been held in arbitrary detention by security bodies associated with the Madkhali Salafists. The council said this is the second such death within a week and the ninth targeting Sufi sheikhs and followers in eastern Libya, holding the ‘de facto authorities’ led by Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar fully responsible. According to the Council, al Farsi’s death follows that of 65 year old Sheikh Jum‘a al Sharif, who also died in Benghazi’s prisons after torture that reportedly left him partially paralyzed. The Supreme Council of Sufism stated that at least seven other Sufi sheikhs had previously died under similar circumstances in eastern Libya’s detention facilities run by Madkhali aligned forces.
The National Institution for Human Rights in Libya said it received a complaint that Omar Aqila al Farsi al Agouri, a detainee held in Al Kweifiya Prison’s solitary confinement wing since 2024, had died after enforced disappearance and medical neglect. His family tried to confirm the presence of his body at Benghazi Medical Centre but could not. Initial information suggests his health collapsed due to lack of treatment. Al Agouri had reportedly been subjected to “severe” torture during his from his home on 9 June 2024, causing memory loss and lasting physical damage, with his condition worsening in prison. The institution called the case a serious violation of Libyan and international law, urging an urgent investigation, accountability for all responsible, and disclosure of the fate of other arbitrarily detained individuals—especially Sufi followers. It noted this is the ninth death among detainees from Sufi backgrounds and warned that continued abuses threaten the rule of law and may constitute grave crimes under national and international standards.
Human rights monitors described the case as a grave violation of Libyan and international law, citing torture, enforced disappearance, denial of healthcare, and deprivation of fair trial guarantees. They called for an urgent, transparent investigation and accountability for all those involved, directly or through negligence, and urged disclosure of the fate of other arbitrarily detained Sufi adherents. Human rights groups warn that the pattern of abuses, prolonged detentions without trial, and repeated deaths in custody threaten the rule of law and may constitute serious crimes requiring accountability under national and international standards.