Tripoli, Nov 17, 2019 – Thirteen European diplomatic missions in Libya, including the EU delegation, demanded Sunday “urgent investigations” into the disappearance four months ago of a lawmaker and called for her immediate release. Siham Sergewa disappeared on July 17 in an attack on her home by an armed group in Benghazi, a city controlled by forces loyal to eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar.
In a statement, the missions said they “express their deep concern regarding the continued disappearance” of Sergewa “and call for her immediate release.” “We continue to call on relevant Libyan authorities to conduct urgent investigations into her disappearance, and provide an update on her whereabouts,” it added. The statement was signed by the EU’s delegation and the embassies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The raid that resulted in the kidnapping of Sergewa also reportedly saw her husband shot in the leg and came shortly after she spoke on Al-Hadath television, an outlet that backs Haftar. During the broadcast she had called for “an end to the bloodshed”, referring to an offensive launched in April by Haftar’s forces to wrest control of the capital Tripoli from rival fighters loyal to the UN recognised Government of National Accord.
“The trend of attacks against politicians, political activists and members of civil society, and in particular women, is unacceptable,” the statement said. On October 17, the UN mission in Libya urged authorities in the country’s east to reveal Sergewa’s fate. The UN also said that since the start of Haftar’s offensive, it had recorded an “alarming increase”in enforced disappearances across Libya.
By AFP
