ISA members suspected in HSC member kidnapping attempt arrested

Sep 27, 2024 | Libyan actors

On 27 September, the Attorney General announced an arrest warrant for three members of the Internal Security Agency (ISA) in Tripoli for their alleged involvement in the attempted abduction of High State Council (HSC) member Nizar Kawan in early August after he left the HQ of the HSC following elections for the presidency. The Attorney General said that investigations into the attempted abduction of Kawan revealed that unidentified individuals first deliberately obstructed his path and then attempted to abduct him by force. The investigation attributed the incident to three members of the Documentation and Information Department of the ISA.

Responding to the Attorney General’s statement, the ISA said the Documentation and Information Department is not concerned with arrests, noting that it does not have the means to arrest people like Nizar Kawan as it has only a technical role. The Agency accused Kawan of leaking sensitive information, including the results of HSC meetings, to foreign missions. He was accused of playing an active role in the Muslim Brotherhood’s attempts to take control in Libya. The statement concluded by stressing that the ISA would continue to carry out its national duties resolutely, without paying attention to those ‘who have been proven to be actively pursuing a foreign agenda aimed at fragmenting the Libyan people and manipulating and draining its wealth’.