A Libyan court has condemned 23 individuals to death and 14 others to life in prison for their involvement in an Islamic State (ISIS) militant campaign that included killing a group of Egyptian Christians and seizing Sirte in 2015.
Five persons were found not guilty, three others passed away before their cases got to trial, and one other person was given a sentence of 12 years in prison, six to 10 years, one to five years, and six to three years, according to a statement from the Libyan Attorney General’s office.
After profiting from the chaos and conflict that followed a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, Islamic State expanded its presence in Libya.
Nine people were killed in an ISIS attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli in 2015. Later, it kidnapped and beheaded several Christians in Egypt, whose deaths were documented in graphic propaganda movies.
Before capturing the important coastal city of Sirte and holding it until late 2016, ISIS took control of eastern Libya’s Benghazi, Derna, and Ajdabiya. ISIS also established a rigid code of public morals supported by severe punishments.
Eventually, ISIS was driven out of Sirte in December 2016 by forces supporting the previous Government of National Accord, which was supported by the UN. Two years later, Khalifa Haftar’s forces in the east took back Derna.
In Libyan jails, there are still hundreds of purported ex-ISIL combatants detained, many of whom are still awaiting trial.
The head of a group for the families of those killed or kidnapped by the gang, Mustafa Salem Trabulsi, expressed disappointment with the decision but claimed he had no choice but to accept it.
“My son is missing, and my relative, my brother-in-law, was murdered in Sirte Square,” he declared.
According to attorney Lotfi Mohaychem, the court condemned three youngsters to ten years in prison apiece.
As attorneys for the families of the victims, Mohaychem remarked, “We view the court’s verdict as very satisfying and very just.”
The court exonerated those against whom there was insufficient evidence and condemned those whose guilt had been established.
