On 5 May, the French outlet Afrique Asie published pictures appearing to show the House of Representatives (HoR) member Ibrahim al-Darsi who was disappeared in May 2024 in Benghazi. The pictures showed him in an unknown detention cell in his underwear, looking exhausted, with visible signs of torture and with a chain around his neck. The article reported that his fate, whether dead or alive, is still unknown.
Subsequently, videos of al-Darsi (from which the pictures were drawn it seems) in the same conditions were circulated on social media. In the video, he can be heard pleading for mercy and asking Saddam Haftar and Khalifa Haftar for release. The pictures and video have sparked horror and outrage across Libya.
The Internal Security Agency (ISA) in Benghazi denied the authenticity of the videos purporting to show al-Darsi, asserting that they were fabricated using artificial intelligence techniques. It also sought to involve UNSMIL, asking it to provide any information it has on the party behind this act, especially in light of what it described as a ‘suspicious temporal overlap’ between the mission’s warnings against the use of artificial intelligence in disinformation campaigns and the leak of the video. UNSMIL has recently launched a campaign countering hate speech and disinformation, mainly focused on migration].
The Presidential Council said it has followed ‘with deep concern and sorrow’ the video clips and photos of al-Darsi, noting the conditions ‘represent a serious violation’ and raise a number of serious questions about the circumstances of his disappearance, his place of detention, and his treatment. It stressed the need to initiate ‘a transparent, impartial, and comprehensive investigation under the supervision of a joint international-national investigation committee’. The Government of National Unity (GNU) also condemned the leaked videos and called for an urgent international investigation. It also accused the HoR Speaker of a dereliction of his moral duty for not commenting – though the HoR later issued a statement.
The Government of National Stability (GNS) Ministry of Interior said that al-Darsi had been kidnapped by ‘an unknown criminal entity affiliated with an organized gang,’ and that he remained ‘the subject of a thorough investigation by the relevant authorities.’ GNS PM Osama Hammad met with the ISA to discuss the issue.
The HoR said it had followed the horrific and shocking photos and videos, though noted their veracity was unclear, and strongly denounced and condemned the crime. It called for the Attorney General and security agencies to investigate the leaks, their veracity, their source and the reason for their release at this time.
On 6 May, UNSMIL said that it is alarmed by the video of al-Darsi and has requested UN digital forensic experts to assess the authenticity of the video. It also called again on Libyan authorities to immediately initiate a fully independent investigation into his enforced disappearance. UNSMIL condemned the widespread and systemic abuses in detention facilities by law enforcement and security actors in Benghazi, Tripoli, Sabha, and other locations across Libya, which have been documented by the Mission and other independent UN mechanisms. These abuses are further exacerbated by the impunity that continues for perpetrators of these crimes.