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By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 27 December 2016:
Both the Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) and UN special envoy Martin Kobler have condemned the closure of the main Tripoli court complex. According to the former, it was forcibly closed and its staff prevented from entering the premises closed by the Department of Criminal Investigation in Tripoli.
Closing the court complex was unacceptable, Kobler said without naming those involved. Everyone had to respect the independence of the judiciary, he insisted.
In a statement on Monday, the SJC said it was shocked at what had happened. The public were being prevented from access to justice by the very people who were supposed to maintain the law and fight crime. This was a dangerous development and wholly unacceptable. Those involved were acting like criminals themselves and would be brought to account, it warned.
It is thought the assault on the court premises is linked to the murders of two members of the Criminal Investigation Department (also known as the Counter Crime Agency) whose bodies were found on Sunday in the city’s Hadba area.
