LIBYA: Interim authorities say they have found a mass grave in Tripoli containing the bodies of more than 1,200 people killed by Muammar Gaddafi's security forces in a 1996 massacre

Record ID: 791417

  • Title: LIBYA: Interim authorities say they have found a mass grave in Tripoli containing the bodies of more than 1,200 people killed by Muammar Gaddafi's security forces in a 1996 massacre
  • Date: 26th September 2011
  • Summary: TRIPOLI, LIBYA (SEPTEMBER 25, 2011) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** WIDE VIEW OF ABU SALIM GRAVE SITE WATCHTOWER MEN HOLDING PRAYER SERVICE AT SITE REMAINS BONES IN WHITE TISSUE JOURNALISTS AND OFFICIALS AT SITE MORE OF BONES UNCOVERED AT SITE JOURNALISTS VIEWING AREA, UNDER ESCORT BY OFFICIALS NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM LIBYAN INDEPENDENCE FLAG BEHIND HEAD TABLE AT NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KHALID AL-SHARIF, MILITARY SPOKESMAN FOR TRIPOLI, SAYING: "In 1996, those prisoners demanded their legal rights and a fair trial as well as basic rights to be provided to them while they lived in prison." NTC FIGHTER LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KHALID AL-SHARIF, MILITARY SPOKESMAN FOR TRIPOLI, SAYING: "After that, an order was issued to massacre those unarmed prisoners. As you know, and, as you've already heard from the stories of survivors of this massacre, they were ordered out of their rooms to the prison courtyard in groups and then the prison guards opened fire on them while they were blindfolded and handcuffed." MORE OF JOURNALISTS JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SALEM AL-FIRJANI, LIBYAN MEDICAL OFFICIAL, SAYING: "Can you imagine that we are dealing with the remains of more than 1,270 martyrs?" JOURNALISTS IN NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM ARMED MEN WALKING THROUGH ABU SALIM PRISON MASS GRAVE SITE MORE OF ARMED MEN AT SITE MAN HOLDING UP DECAYED CLOTHING VARIOUS OF WORKERS EXCAVATING REMAINS
  • Embargoed: 11th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA249OTW5Y50CKZI2EK6Y49XKY8
  • Story Text: Libya's interim authorities said on Sunday (September 25) they had found a mass grave in the capital containing the bodies of more than 1,270 people killed by Muammar Gaddafi's security forces in a 1996 massacre at Tripoli's Abu Salim prison.
    A spokesman for the Tripoli Military Council said investigators had found the mass grave about two weeks ago.
    The uprising that toppled Gaddafi last month was ignited by protests linked to the Abu Salim massacre.
    In February, families of inmates killed at the south Tripoli prison in 1996 demonstrated in the eastern city of Benghazi to demand the release of their lawyer.
    "In 1996, those prisoners demanded their legal rights and a fair trial as well as basic rights to be provided to them while they lived in prison," said Tripoli military spokesman Khalid al-Sharif, offering details on the circumstances of the death.
    "After that, an order was issued to massacre those unarmed prisoners. As you know, and, as you've already heard from the stories of survivors of this massacre, they were ordered out of their rooms to the prison courtyard in groups and then the prison guards opened fire on them while they were blindfolded and handcuffed," Sharif said.
    Other officials indicated it may take years to uncover exactly who was killed at the site.
    "We are dealing with more than 1,270 martyrs," said Dr Salem al-Firjani, a medical official.
    Relatives of victims visited the site, venting anger that has simmered for more than 15 years.
    "They (prison authorities) told me that they were dead, since he was 21 years old. Since he was caught, I never saw him in a visit or any other way from the day that they arrested him," said Mabrouka Saeed al-Habib whose son Abdelaziz died in the mass killing.
    The government of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi used Abu Salim prison, in the south of Tripoli, to detain its opponents, including many who rose up against his rule.
    "He was accused of praying to God and this is a picture of my son," said Alhadia Ahmed Azouawi.
    Human rights groups have estimated that about 2,000 Abu Salim inmates were killed in the 1996 massacre
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