Speaking at a ceremony of new members of the Public Prosecution Service last Wednesday (23 April), the Attorney General, Al-Sideeg Al-Sour, said continued targeted arrests and the subsequent sentencing of unprecedent thousands of criminals have created a deterrence against crime.
This, in turn, he added, is reflected in (improved) security and stability in the country. He said more than 18,000 sentences have been implemented and reminded that crimes are not subject to a statute of limitations.
Smart plan to target criminal power centres
Al-Sour said that while the judiciary may not be able to handle all cases, it is working on a smart plan by targeting power centers here and there to create deterrence. This has led to a decrease in the crime rate. The more the judiciary deals with cases, the more it cooperates in them, and resolves them, bringing defendants to court and issuing rulings, the more it creates deterrence, which in turn reflects on security and stability in the country.
Sentences achieve deterrence despite the passage of years
The Attorney General said all of this serves to send a message (of deterrence to potential criminals). He explained that even judgments in absentia, for which public prosecutors have made great efforts, achieve deterrence despite the passage of years since these cases were filed.
Many personnel currently serving in security services have sentences pending
Giving an example, he said the Public Prosecutor of Tripoli has 56,000 convicts against whom sentences have not been executed, including a Brigadier General and Director of a Department at the Ministry of Interior, who was convicted of theft in 2009 and sentenced in 2010. Moreover, he revealed that many of the personnel currently serving in the security services have sentences pending.
Crimes are not subject to statute of limitations
The Attorney General said that the message that crimes are not subject to a statute of limitations has been conveyed, and that no matter how long or short the time, criminals will be punished, and justice must be served. He stressed that even someone sentenced 20 years ago has been imprisoned, and thousands of sentences have been implemented, totalling more than 18,000. This had not happened even (in the Qaddafi era) before 2011.
Cases are saved and organised in archives
Everything is now archived. Some criminals who have been sentenced are handing themselves in voluntarily after we cut off their salaries and civil rights. This has all created a deterrence and has returned to the rule of law its awe. When there is a will there is progress, he said, stressing that the archives of cases are saved and organised.
Criticism for overuse of ‘‘detention, pending the case’’
He said the judiciary has come under criticism for overusing ‘‘detention, pending a case’’, even by rights NGOs. Those who say this don’t understand the reality the judiciary currently operates in, he explained. Prisons are mostly under the control of various militias and many judicial or enforcement entities are unable or afraid – especially if the case involves the powerful or militias.
We must conduct a realistic reading of the situation. ‘‘Detention pending the case’’ must be ordered based on grounds. Various factors, including flight from the country, must be considered.
