By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 18 November 2014:
As violence escalates across Libya with reports of an increase in human rights abuses, the . . .[restrict]United National Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) has urged the armed groups in control of Tripoli to make certain that the office of Libya’s national human rights institution, the National Council of Civil Liberties and Human Rights is re-opened and able to resume its work without intimidation or obstruction in any form.
“Libyans are facing serious human rights violations, and the need for independent monitoring in the country is critical,” the OHCHR stressed.
Threats and attempts to intimidate the Council have been ongoing since early October, with a number of appearances by armed men at its office demanding keys to the facility and threatening to shut down operations and arrest anyone attempting to re-open, the OHCHR explained.
According to an eyewitness, the building was locked on 9 November by a group led by a well-known Libya Dawn supporter and people at the scene were told that the Council had been shut down by Libya Dawn.
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