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It was called “Mother of Libya”. And that’s exactly what many of her followers have seen in her. Hanan al-Barassi, 46, a lawyer from Benghazi, eastern Libya, has campaigned for human rights in his home country like no other activist. Nor did she hold back in dealing with the powerful of the state, the officers of the Libyan national army, the ruler of Benghazi and the east of the country, the warlord Khalifa Haftar, and his followers. Eventually, al-Barassi paid for his fearlessness with his life.
Hanan al-Barrasi went shopping with her daughter in Benghazi last Tuesday. She was parking her car in front of a supermarket when three SUVs with partially darkened windows pulled up in front of her. Masked men went to the driver’s door and opened fire without a word. This is how eyewitnesses describe it to SPIEGEL. Al-Barrasi was killed instantly. The men quietly left the scene, says a shopkeeper who observed the crime over the phone. Passers-by were shocked, no one said a word.
“Only through death can I be silenced”
The lawyer’s murder caused consternation and anger in Libya. “Al-Barassi has done nothing but freely express his opinion,” said Wael Alushaibi, who works as an adviser to the Libyan parliament. “I am shocked.” Al-Barassi’s death illustrates the dangers women face in Libya if they dare to speak freely, explains the United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Observers suspect political murder and ask Libyan authorities to investigate the case. “This blatant killing shows once again how important it is to establish a government that feels accountable to the Libyan people instead of condoning corruption and brutal violence,” a statement from the US embassy in Libya said.
Al-Barassi renewed his criticisms of Haftar’s LNA in a Facebook video just the day before his death. At the same time, she stressed that under no circumstances should she be intimidated. “I’m not going to bend down,” he said. “If I die, that’s it. Only through death can I be silenced.”
Libya has been embroiled in a civil war almost continuously since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country is in fact divided into two parts. Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, also recognized by the UN, rules the West in the capital Tripoli. General Haftar controls the east around Benghazi. It is supported by Russia and France, among others.
Haftar presents himself as a strong man who defends the country from jihadists. The murder of al-Barassi, however, demonstrates how much terror and violence dominate in his sphere of government. A year and a half ago, MP Siham Sergiwa was kidnapped after criticizing Haftar’s offensive on Tripoli. “The army is the red line” was written on the wall of their home by strangers. There is still no trace of Sergiwa to this day.
In October, the Sarraj and Haftar camps agreed on a ceasefire. Representatives of Libyan politics, the military and civil society are currently negotiating the country’s future under the leadership of UNSMIL in Tunis. These are issues already discussed at the Berlin conference in January, at that time on the initiative of Germany: new elections, constitutional reform, common government.
Observers fear that the assassination of al-Barassi could torpedo peace talks in Tunis. “Without security for people like Hanan al-Barassi, the new elections and all other resolutions of the Tunis conference will have no meaning,” says political adviser Alushaibi. “Europe, in particular, must take action against the perpetrators with sanctions or criminal proceedings if they want to see a stable Libya again.”
So far, Benghazi’s henchmen seem to feel they can act with impunity. The newly excavated tomb of al-Barassi was devastated on Thursday.
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