The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) in Libya has strongly condemned the circulation of what it described as “degrading” images of Ibrahim el-Dirsi, a kidnapped member of the eastern-based parliament.
The GNU is calling for an urgent international investigation into the matter.
El-Dirsi, who represents Benghazi in the Libyan House of Representatives, was abducted in May 2024 in the eastern city.
Recently, Al-Ahrar TV, a Libyan channel, broadcast photos and a video allegedly showing Dirsi in a prison cell, wearing only shorts and with a padlock and chain around his neck.
The GNU stated that it “condemns in the strongest terms” these “shocking and inhumane conditions of detention.”
While AFP could not verify the authenticity of the images, which Al-Ahrar reported to be from May 2024, the UN Support Mission in Libya had previously expressed “deep concern” over Dirsi’s abduction and called for his immediate release.
The Tripoli government specifically criticised the “so-called General Command,” a reference to the forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar in the east, after the video appeared to show Dirsi asking them for forgiveness.
In contrast, Al-Masar TV, considered supportive of Haftar, quoted parliamentarians who dismissed the images as “fabricated” and potentially created using artificial intelligence.
The eastern-based authorities have not yet officially commented on the images.
This incident highlights the ongoing instability in Libya, which has been divided between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi.
In a similar case, Siham Sergewa, another parliamentarian in Benghazi who criticised Haftar, was abducted from her home in 2019 and remains missing.
