From April 04, 2019, the Libyan Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) has been engaged in an all-out war against the aggression forces of warlord Khalifa Haftar on the outskirts of Tripoli and other cities like Gharyan and Tarhouna., thus making both parties what one can easily call “rivals”.
However, once the war ended and political talks and dialogues ensued, details of a renewed acceptance of Haftar on the side of the Presidential Council have been surfacing, keeping in mine the oil deal signed by the member of the Presidential Council Ahmed Maiteeq with Haftar (via his sons and aides).
Justice Ministry Drops a Bombshell:
The Justice Minister of the GNA Khairi Abdel-Aali, has accused the Presidential Council of shelving the reports incoming from the Ministry regarding the war crimes and other crimes against humanity committed by warlord Haftar and his militias during their 14-mont offensive on Tripoli and other cities across the western region in Libya.
The Minister of Justice accused the Presidential Council of intentionally abstaining from taking any legal actions against the countries supporting Haftar, especially the UAE.
Abdel-Aali said on a special coverage program on Libya Alahrar TV channel that the Ministry of Justice did a tremendous job compiling four reports of crimes committed by Haftar and his supporting countries as well as two other reports: one on the killings of military cadets at the Tripoli Military College; and the other on the mass graves left by Haftar’s militias as they fled Tarhuna and southern Tripoli.
“The Presidential Council must be held to account as to where those reports are and why they haven’t been utilized to bring Haftar to justice.” The Minister explained.
He added that the Ministry of Justice had handed over 3000 documents to the teams of the International Criminal Court regarding the crimes and the mass graves committed by Haftar, reiterating that they had also given the Attorney General’s Office reports about the crimes of Haftar and his supporting countries.
Tarhuna Mass Graves
The accusations of negligence and coverup against the Presidential Council come after the families and relatives of the victims of Tarhuna mas graves and those o the missing persons have expressed dismay at the visit of the Minister of Justice to the city and saying a few words, while no actions have been done to do them justice.
They complained that only after 100 days of the liberation of Tarhuna from Haftar’s militias, the Minister of Justice arrived in the city and brought no answers as to the whereabouts of the missing persons and the punishment that should be directed at the criminals who committed the crimes of mass graves in the city.
Rejection of Accusations
The Ministry of Justice later issued a statement saying all the reports of the documentation division for human rights had been actually given to the Presidential Council to bring the criminals to justice.
It added that the Foreign Ministry of the GNA had transferred the reports to the relevant international bodies, saying the details of such issues should be taken from the relevant authorities of the state not from media outlets.
