Anna Hollygan
BBC News, The Hague
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The International Criminal Court says German authorities arrested Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri on July 16th
A Libyan suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity was arrested in Germany on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Khaled Muhammad Ali El Hishri, commonly known as “Al Buti,” is said to have been one of the most senior officials in the Mitiga prison complex in the capital Tripoli, where thousands of people were detained.
He is suspected of committing, ordering or overseeing crimes such as murder, torture and rape.
The atrocities are said to have been committed in detention units near Tripoli for five years starting in 2015. There is no record of him commenting on the allegations.
The ICC has issued 11 arrest warrants in connection with alleged crimes and crimes committed in Libya since the expulsion and murder of Muammar Gaddafi, a longtime leader in Libya.
This situation was introduced to the court in February 2011 by the UN Security Council, with the help of NATO forces, at the start of a protest that was ousted by Gaddafi later that year.
In its introduction, the Security Council condemned “violence and use of force against civilians… a serious and systematic violation of human rights, including suppression of peaceful protesters.”
He also expressed “deep concern over the death of civilians” and “explicitly refuses to incite hostility and violence against civilians created from the highest levels of the Libyan government” at the time under Gaddafi.
After six decades of power since Gadafi’s overthrow, Libya has been divided into regions controlled by various militias and is now divided into two rival governments.
Hishri was part of a special deterrent, also known as SDF/RADA, and was lined up with the Internationally Recognised Government’s Ministry of Home Affairs based in Tripoli.
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Thousands of people, including migrants trying to reach Europe, are kept in detention centres in Libyan detention centres.
On May 12, 2025, Libya accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC from 2011 to the end of 2027.
Eight other public ICC arrest warrants are still pending in connection with the violence that followed the collapse of Gaddafi.
Earlier this year, Italy is said to have been controversially director of the Mitiga Detention Centre.
Amnesty International says Mitiga Prison is a scene of “a horrifying violation with complete immunity.”
Some of the things stored in Michiga are immigrants trying to reach Europe.
According to sources from the Italian Ministry of Interior, Nazim was released due to legal skills.
The ICC said Nazim was released by Italy “without prior notice or consultation with the court” and issued another warrant for him. He remains a fugitive.
Mr. Hishli will remain in German detention until arrangements are made that he surrender to ICC custody and be handed over to face Hague justice.
The ICC thanked “all the victims and witnesses in Libya who have made progress in cooperation with the investigation. Their strength, courage and commitment make these important developments possible.”
Hishri’s case joins other cases in the court’s ongoing efforts to deal with crimes committed during the Libyan conflict, although other suspects remain common.
Details of BBC’s Libya: Getty Images/BBC
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