Families of Martyrs demand justice for their lost loved ones and the war crimes committed by Haftar forces

The Presidential Council called for a halt to the Criminal Court’s investigations into war crimes in a statement made by the Organization in response to the Supreme Judicial Council’s mandate.

In a statement issued on July 14, the Head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Mohamed El Hafi, urged the Libyan Presidential Council to petition the International Criminal Court to halt its investigations.

According to the statement, in response, the Organization requested that the “Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court investigate war crimes and bring justice in accordance with the jurisdiction conferred upon him by Security Council resolutions.”

The Organization condemned “the statement by the President of the Supreme Judicial Council in which the Head of the Presidential Council is directed to demand that all investigations into war crimes and atrocities committed against the Libyan people be stopped.”

The statement emphasized that “if this is not reversed, we, the relatives of war crimes victims, jurists, and the Libyan people, will find themselves in front of the Supreme Judicial Council against such demands, which may lead to the impunity of war criminals.”

On 4 April 2019, Haftar’s forces began a savage onslaught against Tripoli, killing hundreds of soldiers and civilians and causing immense destruction, before the Libyan army could put an end to the illegitimate attempt to grab power from Libya’s former Government of National Accord.

The offensive, which lasted over a year, cost thousands of lives, crippled Libya’s economy and left hundreds of thousands of Libyans internally displaced, some with no homes to return to as they’ve been destroyed.