Libya: Libyan Mp Disappeared For Over A Year
Ibrahim al-Dersi is a member of the House of Representatives, Libya’s parliament, for the Benghazi constituency. He is also the head of the Endowments and Islamic Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives. Shortly after the publication of the videos in May 2025, Libya Public Prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into his disappearance.
Ibrahim al-Dersi’s disappearance on 16 May 2024 is a stark reminder of abductions, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions perpetrated by security agencies and militias operating in areas under the control of LAAF, the de facto authority in eastern Libya. For instance, Amnesty International documented how the armed group Tariq Ben Zeyad (TBZ), one of the most powerful armed groups operating under LAAF, has been implicated since 2016 in abductions and enforced disappearances of political figures, activists, journalists and other civilians. Those abducted by the TBZ were targeted for their actual or perceived opposition to the LAAF, including their criticism on social media of LAAF General Commander Khalifa Haftar or his son Saddam Haftar or their allies; their tribal or family affiliations; their political activism; their refusal to cooperate with the LAAF, their media work; and/or their participation in anti-LAAF protests.
Other militias in areas under LAAF’s authority have been also implicated in abductions and enforced disappearance. For instance, on 17 July 2019, dozens of masked gunmen wearing army attire stormed MP Siham Sergiwa’s home in Benghazi, eastern Libya. The night before her abduction, Siham Sergiwa had publicly called for an end to the LAAF offensive on Tripoli. Eyewitnesses to Siham Sergiwa’s abduction and photos examined by Amnesty International point to graffiti on the wall of her house as evidence that Awliya al-Dam, an armed brigade affiliated with the LAAF, was responsible. Siham Sergiwa’s whereabouts remain unknown to the day.
On 7 October 2023, LAAF affiliates took hostage 36 women and 13 children from the al-Barghathi family. They were released after Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi, former Minister of Defence, and his son were taken into LAAF custody, along with 38 other al-Barghathi family members and supporters. The fate and whereabouts of at least 19 of them remains unknown, amid fears they may have been extrajudicially executed after being captured.