Eastern Libya executes 10 convicted on terrorism charges, sparking rights outcry

CAIRO (AP) — Authorities in eastern Libya said they executed 10 people after their conviction by military courts on terrorism-related charges.

The executions, announced Sunday, triggered condemnations by rights groups in the North African country that is divided between rival administrations, each backed by a set of militias and foreign governments.

The office of the military prosecutor in eastern Libya said the 10 people were executed by firing squad after yearslong trials. The office is overseen by the self-styled Libyan National Army, which is commanded by powerful Gen. Khalifa Hifter and controls the eastern and southern parts of Libya.

The people were convicted of charges ranging from joint terrorist groups to assassinations of military personnel and civilians, the office said in a statement.

The statement didn’t provide further details about the charges, and when or where the executions took place, but said they were executed after “all legal procedures” were concluded.

Local media reported that the executions took place in the notorious Qarnada military prison in the northeastern town of Shahat, and that their families were notified to receive their bodies from a hospital in the city of Benghazi.

Rights groups condemned the executions and questioned the trials. The National Institution for Human Rights in Libya said military trial of civilians “raises fundamental questions concerning jurisdiction, judicial independence, and guarantees of a fair trial.”

The group called for Libya’s chief prosecutor and judicial authorities to investigate the executions and all procedures taken through their trials.

It cited a Constitutional Court ruling that said the trial of civilians before military courts for terrorism-related offenses and crimes against the state was unconstitutional.‎

International rights groups have repeatedly criticized the detention and sometimes execution of people after unfair trials. Amnesty International has said that Libya has retained the death penalty for a wide range of offenses, with courts in both eastern and western Libya continuing to impose death sentences for murder following “grossly unfair trials.”

Libya was plunged into chaos and division after a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed its longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

The county has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.