HRW: Libya: Bodies Found at Sirte Hotel Apparent Execution of 53 Gaddafi Supporters

[chill_wind]

Libya: Apparent Execution of 53 Gaddafi Supporters
Bodies Found at Sirte Hotel Used by Anti-Gaddafi Fighters
October 24, 2011


(Sirte) – Fifty-three people, apparent Gaddafi supporters, seem to have been executed at a hotel in Sirte last week, Human Rights Watch said today. The hotel is in an area of the city that was under the control of anti-Gaddafi fighters from Misrata before the killings took place.

(snip)

“We found 53 decomposing bodies, apparently Gaddafi supporters, at an abandoned hotel in Sirte, and some had their hands bound behind their backs when they were shot,” said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, who investigated the killings. “This requires the immediate attention of the Libyan authorities to investigate what happened and hold accountable those responsible.”

(snip)

The condition of the bodies suggests the victims were killed approximately one week prior to their discovery, between October 14 and October 19, Human Rights Watch said. The bloodstains on the grass directly below the bodies, bullet holes visible in the ground, and the spent cartridges of AK-47 and FN-1 rifles scattered around the site strongly suggest that some, if not all of the people, were shot and killed in the location where they were discovered, Human Rights Watch said.

All the bodies were in a similar stage of decomposition, suggesting they were killed at the same approximate time. Some of the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs with plastic ties. Others had bandages over serious wounds, suggesting they had been treated for other injuries prior to their deaths.

More:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/24/libya-apparent-execution-53-gaddafi-supporters

[EFerrari]

1. Add them to the 95 that HRW found out on the road in Sirte

after Gaddafi was murdered.

[Fool Count]

6. That together is already, probably, more than the number

of deaths of anti-Qaddafi demonstrators which served as rationale for the intervention. Could be even much more.

[MannyGoldstein]

Not very promising - let's hope things improve. nt

[chill_wind]

4. They will certainly have their hands full

as more turns up as perpetrated on both sides.

"Violence of any kind, and in particular murder, inflicted during an armed conflict on combatants who have laid down their arms or are in detention, is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has jurisdiction in Libya for all crimes within its mandate committed since February 15, 2011. Under the court's treaty, criminal liability applies to both those who physically commit the crimes and to senior officials, including those who give the orders and those in a position of command who should have been aware of the abuses but failed to prevent them or to report or prosecute those responsible.

“This latest massacre seems part of a trend of killings, looting, and other abuses committed by armed anti-Gaddafi fighters who consider themselves above the law,” Bouckaert said. “It is imperative that the transitional authorities take action to rein in these groups.”

[ellisonz]

2. ..

There is no direct evidence that these five brigades were involved in the executions, but their apparent presence in the hotel requires immediate investigation, Human Rights Watch said.

-----

At a separate site in Sirte, Human Rights Watch saw the badly decomposed bodies of 10 people who had apparently also been executed. The bodies had been dumped in a water reservoir in District 2 of the city. The identity of the victims was unknown, and it was not possible to establish whether Gaddafi forces or anti-Gaddafi fighters were responsible. From the state of decomposition of the bodies, it appears they were killed prior to October 12.

Medical officials in Sirte told Human Rights Watch that pro-Gaddafi forces had carried out executions in the city. They said that medical teams and anti-Gaddafi fighters found at least 23 bodies, their hands bound, between October 15 and October 20.

[chill_wind]

3. TNC Failing to secure weapons. HRW: "No time to waste."

Libya: Transitional Council Failing to Secure Weapons
Stockpiles of Surface-to-Air Missiles, Other Arms Found Unguarded
October 25, 2011

For months we have been warning the NTC and NATO about the dangers posed by these vast stockpiles of unguarded weapons, and the urgent need to secure them. Surface-to-air missiles can take down civilian aircraft, and the explosive weapons can be converted easily into the car bombs and IEDs that have killed thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch)

(Misrata) – Vast amounts of unsecured explosive weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, remain unguarded in the area around Sirte, Libya, Human Rights Watch said today. The National Transitional Council (NTC), Libya’s transitional government, has promised for months that it would secure weapons facilities.

Two unguarded sites near Sirte inspected by Human Rights Watch on October 22, 2011, contained surface-to-air missiles, tank and mortar rounds, large numbers of munitions, and thousands of guided and unguided aerial weapons.

(snip)

Thousands of crates of rocket-propelled grenades, such as RPG-7 shells for tank cannons, artillery and mortar projectiles, anti-aircraft rounds, and other munitions lay dispersed for kilometers in the open desert around the second facility, also apparently moved to prevent them from being targeted in NATO strikes. Human Rights Watch spent two hours inspecting the site, without seeing a guard or any other person. Many of the bunkers had already been heavily looted.

(more)

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/25/libya-transitional-council-failing-secure-weapons

[court jester]

5. r&

:dem:

Can HRW fit under the bus? We shall see...

[chill_wind]

7. My guess

is yes. Already with the unrecs.

[Turborama]

10. Funny you should ask, they were thrown under it back in April...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4815494#4816392

[EFerrari]

12. Their record is mixed. A humanitarian org has no business

politicizing their mission. That only creates problems for the people they are supposed to be serving.

[pampango]

14. Kind of like Amnesty International. Each side takes a turn throwing HRW or AI under the bus when

they don't like the way HRW or AI presents a story. Some will cite HRW or AI when it suits their purpose then look for a bus when a story goes against their belief.

[pampango]

8. Investigate NTC fighters and Gaddafi. Other reports from HRW about Libya.

The Gaddafi Files http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/20/qaddafi-files
Libya: New Era Needs Focus on Rights http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/20/libya-new-era-needs-focus-rights
Libya: Investigate Deaths of Gaddafi and Son http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/22/libya-investigate-deaths-gaddafi-and-son
Libya: Apparent Execution of 53 Gaddafi Supporters http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/24/libya-apparent-execution-53-gaddafi-supporters
Libya: Use Forensic Experts to Exhume Prison Grave http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/26/libya-use-forensic-experts-exhume-prison-grave
Libya: Halt Exhumations of Mass Graves http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/22/libya-halt-exhumations-mass-graves
Gaddafi Prosecution Can Help ICC Complete Unfinished Business http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/15/gaddafi-prosecution-can-help-icc-complete-unfinished-business
Libya: 19 Suffocated in Gaddafi Detention http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/09/libya-19-suffocated-gaddafi-detention

There are many more HRW reports concerning both Gaddafi and the NTC beginning at http://www.hrw.org/news/list/all .

[Starry Messenger]

9. .

[pinboy3niner]

11. ALL war crimes should be investigated and prosecuted

Some highlight only crimes committed by the other side. That's BS, and i believe that Duers see through it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. Not going to happen

Everybody know they occurred but in the interest of getting Libya back on its feet and not having another Somalia, nothing will happen.