The Head of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Al-Sarraj has suspended the Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha from work pending administrative investigations.
The decision of the GNA to suspend Bashagha instructed him to undergo investigations in 72 hours for giving permissions for Libyans to protest and demonstrate and giving protection to the protesters in Tripoli, Misrata and other cities.
The decision appointed the deputy minister of interior Ahmed Al-Tijani to replace Bashagha temporarily with all sovereign and administrative authorities.
In the meantime, Bashagha issued a statement following the GNA’s decision, saying he was ready to undergo investigations for the protests’ issues, but he asked that the investigations be in public and aired live on TV as per democratic regulations.
He said he was dismayed at the security measures taken by some armed groups which don’t operate under the Interior Ministry of the GNA, adding that they had done acts that belittled the Libyan civilians demonstrating peacefully.