Interior Ministry to set up body to investigate police complaints

Tripoli, 28 December:

The Ministry of Interior yesterday said that it is planning to set up a special committee to investigate complaints . . .[restrict]made by citizens against abuses committed by police officers.

According to the statement, the new initiative comes from the Ministry’s desire to respect the human rights of all Libyans in the post-Qaddafi era, when there was little accountability for the behaviour of members of the security forces.

The Ministry of Interior also urged all police officers to carry out their profession within the laws that govern the work of the police force.

This comes eight days after a video emerged on YouTube apparently showing signs of torture on a suspect who was arrested in Benghazi several weeks ago.

Authorities in the city denied the torture allegations, but did say that they would look into the claims against police officers as part of their investigation into recent violence in Benghazi. [/restrict]