LIBYA. HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP CONFIRMS EXECUTION OF FOUR EGYPTIAN NATIONALS

July 26, 2005: The Libyan League for Human Rights has confirmed the execution, by firing squad, of four Egyptian nationals who, together with 11 other Egyptian expatriates, were "convicted" of "murder" by a Libyan court in 2004.
The news had been reported on July 18, 2005 by the Cairo-based Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, which did not mention the names of the Egyptian nationals sentenced to death or give any details regarding the cases for which they were sentenced.
“The League is all the more concerned as it was not aware that such trial took place, nor can it be sure that the judgment was actually rendered by a competent court after due process of law that provided every possible safeguard to ensure a fair trial,” the Geneva based organization said in a statement.
In particular, the League “is not sure whether the executed persons, Arfa Abdellatif, Majed Assayed Mohamed, Barakat Abdeldhaher and Basyouni Ahmed, enjoyed adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings.” “We are not aware that their right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction was respected or that their right to seek pardon or commutation of sentence was exercised,” they added.
The Libyan League for Human Rights took this opportunity to reaffirm its total opposition to capital punishment and, therefore, call upon the Government to immediately announce the demise of the death penalty in Libya by promptly ratifying the UN Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“Meanwhile, in order to save the lives of those who are on death row, including the 11 Egyptian expatriates, a moratorium on all executions should be put into effect pending a review of their individual cases and consideration of the granting of a pardon or commutation of their death sentences,” the League stated. (Sources: The Libyan League for Human Rights, 26/07/2005)