During her historic visit to Libya this week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should press the Libyan government and leader Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi to release political prisoners, abolish laws that imprison peaceful critics, and end the use of torture, Human Rights Watch said today.

Rice is planning to visit Libya on September 5 as part of a North Africa tour. It will be the first visit by a US secretary of state to the country since 1953.

“Business concerns and counterterrorism cooperation are driving forces behind the US-Libya détente, but they should not come at the expense of human rights and the rule of law,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division. “Scores of Libyans are still in prison – some of them disappeared – simply for expressing peaceful criticism of the government and its leaders.”

Of particular concern is the near-total ban on independent political activity. Libya’s Law 71 criminalizes any group activity based on a political ideology opposed to the principles of the al-Fateh Revolution, which brought Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi to power in 1969. Article 3 of the law imposes the death penalty on those who form, join, or support such groups. Over the years, Libyan authorities have imprisoned hundreds of people for violating this law, and sentenced some to death.

The government severely restricts the media. Libyans depend on the internet and satellite television channels for uncensored news. Those who criticize the country’s political leaders or system face harsh penalties.

In June 2008, a state security court sentenced 11 men to prison terms of six to 25 years for planning to hold a peaceful demonstration in Tripoli against police violence. The main organizer, Dr. Idris Boufayed, who received a sentence of 25 years, suffers from cancer. Another man arrested with the group, `Abd al-Rahman al-Qotaiwi, remains missing, having not been accounted for in the 18 months since the group was detained in February 2007.

Torture of detainees is a serious concern in Libya. According to the US State Department’s 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, methods of torture in Libya included: clubbing, applying electric shock, breaking fingers, and suffocating with plastic bags.

In May 2008, the Swedish government returned Mohammed Adel Abu Ali to Libya after rejecting his asylum request. Libyan authorities detained him on arrival, and two weeks later they informed his family that he had died.

Link to HRW