The Libya Platform: Failure to release detainees amounts to a death sentence

Libyan Cloud News Agency – Tunisia  

The Libya Platform, a human rights coalition, has called on the Libyan authorities to urgently decongest places of detention to limit the spread of the coronavirus among the prison population and the country as a whole. 

In a statement, it said that with the current unprecedented threat to the collective future of humanity, the international community cannot turn a blind eye to countries in conflict such as Libya. 

“If the Covid-19 pandemic is not controlled in Libya, it will continue to spread in North Africa and Southern Europe, undermining global efforts to cope with the crisis,” read the statement.

It added that the outbreak of Covid-19 is likely to have a devastating impact in Libya, especially for those who live in precarious conditions and whose freedom of movement is restricted. Living conditions in Libya’s prisons are already sub-standard.

It pointed out that the prisoners face torture and other ill-treatment, in addition to overcrowding, poor sanitation, and lack of access to medical care.

“The situation for more than 3,000 refugees and migrants in formal and informal places of detention, with little access to water and sanitation, is also extremely alarming,” warned the statement.

It concluded that keeping people in unnecessary detention under these appalling conditions could result in nothing short of a mass death sentence and represents a clear danger to public health throughout Libya and beyond.