![Death sentences return to Russia-backed North African nation as U.S. warns citizens and EU condemns executions for terrorism-related crimes [Image Credit: Kurdistan Human Rights]](https://ocdn.eu/pulscms/MDA_/2f1661e947b0af4ebf784c1441aeae80.jpg)
Eastern Libya, governed under a Russia-backed administration, has ended a decade-long moratorium on capital punishment by executing dozens of individuals convicted of terrorism and murder related offenses.
- Eastern Libya has resumed executions after a decade, ending a long moratorium on capital punishment.
- At least 30 people convicted of terrorism and murder were executed in Benghazi and Derna between August and September.
- Most executions followed rulings from military tribunals, raising concerns about lack of transparency and fair trials.
- The European Union has strongly condemned the executions, calling them cruel and urging Libya to halt further state killings.
Local human rights monitors and international observers report that at least 30 people were executed in the eastern cities of Benghazi and Derna between late August and early September.
Many of those put to death had been sentenced through military court tribunals, marking a sharp increase in judicial severity across the region.
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Capital punishment returns to Russia-backed Libya as the European Union demands an immediate halt
The sudden execution wave represents the formal collapse of an unofficial freeze on the death penalty that had remained in effect since 2010.
Legal experts and international monitoring teams noted that many of the capital trials lacked transparency, impartial oversight, and fair process guarantees for the accused.
In response to the killings, the European Union issued a sharp diplomatic rebuke calling on local officials to stop all scheduled executions and halt new capital convictions.
Reaffirming the bloc’s complete opposition to capital punishment, it was recently published on the European Union official website that the death penalty is “cruel, inhuman and irreversible” and emphasized that state execution is “incompatible with human dignity”.
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The European Union also urged regional authorities in Libya to work closely with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to review capital court proceedings and bring judicial practices into line with international legal obligations.
The U.S. maintains a severe Level 4 travel warning advising against all travel to Libya
Few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of State reissued its highest security warning concerning travel to the area.
Designated as a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory, the warning instructs American citizens to avoid visiting Libya under any circumstances due to persistent armed conflict, civil unrest, and lawlessness.
A report by Business Insider Africa cited official American advisories warning that “US citizens could be among those targeted for kidnapping”.
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The U.S. government further cautioned that because it does not maintain an active embassy in Libya, its capacity to provide emergency consular aid or evacuation assistance to travelers remains strictly limited.
