By Ahmed Elumami.
Tripoli, 23 June 2013:
At a ceremony on Sunday morning, the main prison at Mitiga Airbase was handed over by . . .[restrict]Hashim Bishr, the head of Tripoli Supreme Security Committee (SSC), to the Military Prisons Administration in the Ministry of the Defence.
Bishr said that the step should be seen as an important first towards building the state as well as enhancing security, despite the challenges.
He noted that the handover had been organised in order to ensure that the jail was run legally and correctly, with visits allowed and proper health supervision.
“The inmates were classified and their files addressed over the past three months, since when their cases have been handed over to the prosecutors,” Bishr explained.
The prison includes 37 military prisoners who served with Qaddafi’s regime, 28 prisoners accused of murder and theft, and some accused of moral offences
Acting Chief of Staff Salem Gnaidi and the head of Police and Military Prisons, Mokhtar Fernana, praised Bishr for his efforts in rebuilding the country, saying that the revolutionaries had played a massive role in reconstructing Libya, first by fighting in the liberation war and now by participating in security across Libya.
Both men, however, called on all battalions and heads other “irregular” prisons to follow Bishr’s lead in the interest of Libya and the Libyans.
Meanwhile, Gnaidi noted that despite the challenges, the Libyan army had started to recover – “but with a budget of only LD 800 million”.
If Libyans wanted to build an army to protect the country, it must have nothing to do with political parties and blocs, he warned. Otherwise there would be a disaster. [/restrict]
