Libya: At least 31 civilians executed by Haftar's forces since late August, according to Human Rights Watch

The Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), led by General Khalifa Haftar and controlling the east and south of the country, have executed at least 31 people since the end of August 2026, Human Rights Watch (HRW) states in a report published on October 14, 2026. All had been sentenced by military courts following trials that the organization deems grossly unfair.

On August 23, 2026, the LAAF military prosecutor announced the execution of ten people by firing squad, who had been convicted of murder and terrorism-related offenses. As of September 10, 2026, human rights organizations had documented at least 31 executions. These are believed to be the first known executions in Libya since 2010. At least fifty other convicts are reportedly being held at the Gernada military prison and are at imminent risk, according to HRW.

Civilians tried by military courts

Many of those executed had been arrested in Derna and Benghazi during or after the 2014-2018 armed conflict. Between 2018 and 2021, eastern military courts sentenced hundreds of civilians, including at least twenty-two to death, according to an Amnesty International count cited by HRW.

However, a decision issued in November 2025 by the Constitutional Chamber of the Libyan Supreme Court ruled Law No. 4 of 2017 unconstitutional, insofar as it grants military courts jurisdiction to try civilians. The executions continued after this ruling.

Closed doors, contested confessions, families not notified

According to HRW, the trials were held behind closed doors, without sufficient notice, with restrictions imposed on lawyers, and without reasoned written judgments. The organization asserts that confessions were obtained under torture by the Internal Security Agency, an armed group affiliated with the LAAF. Two death sentences had been commuted to life imprisonment on appeal in 2019: both men were executed regardless this year. Families were not notified, the bodies were not returned to them, and burials took place without them.

Tripoli and the UN condemn

The Government of National Unity, based in Tripoli, which is internationally recognized and controls the west of the country, has condemned these executions, as have the United Nations. HRW is calling on states that support the LAAF to exert pressure to put an end to them. Bassam Khawaja, the organization's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, believes that every execution carried out under these conditions constitutes an irreversible injustice.

Fifteen years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya remains divided between two rival powers. The right of a Libyan civilian to be tried by a civil court, and subsequently to have their conviction reviewed, is currently at stake in the prisons of the east.