On Feb 14, 9:09 pm, "Abdul Bangura" <th...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Caught on video: The horrifying proof that Libya's freedom fighters have turned into brutal torturers
>
> Film shows three men tying up blood-spattered man before whipping him with cables and touching him on his skin with electric wires
> Man, suspected by rebels of having supported Gaddafi, told: �Blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done�
> Video handed to Mail on Sunday in Tripoli refugee camp
>
> By BARBARA JONES
>
> Last updated at 12:37 AM on 12th February 2012
> Comments (121)
> Share
>
> A terrified Libyan man is beaten and tortured with electric shocks by youths who appear to be former revolutionary fighters.
>
> The images, taken from a video handed to The Mail on Sunday in a Tripoli refugee camp, will be seen as fresh evidence that those who deposed Colonel Gaddafi with the help of the West are adopting methods as brutal as the dead tyrant�s.
>
> The film shows three men tying up the blood-spattered man before whipping him repeatedly with cables, touching him on his skin with electric wires and taunting him as he pleads for mercy.
>
> The man being whipped with cables on the video was Saleh Barhoun Gersh, who had run a general store in Towerga - which was loyal to Gaddafi during the conflict until the town was ransacked by fighters from nearby Misrata. When the rebels arrived, Mr Gersh was so frightened he wore women's clothes to disguise himself
> The film shows three men tying up the blood-spattered man before whipping him repeatedly with cables, touching him on his skin with electric wires and taunting him as he pleads for mercy
>
> The men, one of whom is wearing combat trousers and is armed with a knife, tell the man that 'blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done'
>
> The men, one of whom is wearing combat trousers and is armed with a knife, tell the man that �blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done�.
>
> The new video images follow growing protests about abuse and torture in parts of the country.
>
> Doctors from the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have pulled out after refusing to deal with the results of such brutality in their clinics.
>
> More...
> If history teaches us anything, it's not to meddle in the middle east
> Could we do it again? The MoD must heed the Defence Select Committee's report on Libya
> US weighing up military options in Syria as '18 premature babies die in Homs hospital after power cut caused by shelling'
> According to sources, the youths in the video were former rebels who refused to surrender their weapons at the end of the civil war in October � and are intent on revenge on those they suspect of having supported Gaddafi.
>
> They are said to have driven in armed trucks into the al-Fellah �internally displaced persons� (IDP) camp in a suburb of Tripoli, firing at crowds and searching homes until they found men on their list of �suspects�.
>
> Fury: Women in the refugee camp, in a suburb of Tripoli, scream at the militia
> Their victim, seen on the video, was Saleh Barhoun Gersh, who had run a general store in Towerga � which was loyal to Gaddafi during the conflict until the town was ransacked by fighters from nearby Misrata city.
>
> Before Gaddafi was killed, the rebels had been under siege from his forces for weeks in Misrata � a port 150 miles east of Tripoli.
>
> Commander Mohamed al-Deaka said of the men carrying out the abuse: 'Yes, it happens here, but it's everywhere in Libya. We have to use force to make prisoners give answers. Our city was destroyed in the fighting. Now we want to know who carried out the destruction, who raped our women and stole our property'When some of the Misrata rebels arrived at the camp, Mr Gersh was so frightened he wore women�s clothes to disguise himself.
>
> In the film he cries out as he is whipped and is told: �You are from Towerga, you dog. You say you did nothing in Misrata, so why are you in disguise? We found weapons in every house in Towerga. Your hand is bleeding and we hope it is paralysed.�
>
> The men chant as they reach for live electric wires: �Everyone we catch is innocent, they say.
>
> �Well, blood will come from your eyes and nose until you admit what you have done. We�ve caught 60 of you so far and none of you did anything.�
>
> It is not clear when the footage was taken or what happened to Mr Gersh.
>
> Camp manager Mohamed al-Mabruk, who handed over the footage, said: �The fighters from Misrata have kept their weapons and vowed to capture everyone who supported Gaddafi.
>
> �They come on regular raids to our three camps in Tripoli and take anyone they want. They beat them and torture them to get them to confess to rape and murder.�
>
> Locals said Towerga residents were known supporters of Gaddafi and are among 8,500 people believed to be held in secret camps all over the country.
>
> Mr al-Mabruk is helpless to stop the raids. He said: �You can do nothing against the Misrata militias.
>
> 'We are all terrified of them. The government, the police and the army cannot stop them.�
>
> Attacks are often filmed by the fighters for amusement to post on YouTube.
>
> The abuse of Mr Gersh was captured on a mobile phone left behind in the chaos of a raid. Libya�s interim government has admitted it is largely powerless to prevent this collapse of law and order. It comes at a time when doubts are being raised about Nato�s support for the uprising.
>
> Britain spent about �300million on bombing raids to help secure the victory that ousted the Gaddafi regime four months ago.
>
> But local militias are hell-bent on revenge against their former enemies. They also frequently clash with rival militias.
>
> Rebel fighters in Towerga, south of Misrata, which has been systematically looted and destroyed since Gaddafi's downfall
> Thousands of fighters have commandeered schools, halls and sports centres as detention facilities for �suspects� they capture from their homes or the street.
>
> The Misrata brigades are considered the most hostile, with thousands of untrained youths carrying out the aggressive interrogation. In other footage collected by the camp manager, more than 30 armed trucks are shown on an early morning raid into the camp.
>
> Women scream that they are being attacked in their beds and that some family members are sick. �Is this the new revolution. Is this the justice we all fought for?� they shout.
>
> Last month, 14 badly injured detainees were sent to Medecins Sans Frontieres doctors, three of them needing hospitalisation.
>
> Claudia Evers, Misrata co-ordinator for MSF, said: �The militia refused to let us take them to hospital. We�ve reported two deaths. No action has been taken and our doctors refuse to continue.�
>
> Amnesty International has documented thousands of cases of abuse and torture, and handed photographs to The Mail on Sunday. Senior crisis response adviser Donatella Rovera has protested to the National Transitional Council (NTC) without success.
>
> �I have seen people who have been beaten with iron bars and rubber pipes, some hardly able to walk,� she said.
> �Men are hung by handcuffs from a door frame and attacked with electric wires. Tasers are applied to their ears and genitals, and finger and toenails are torn out.�
>
> She has evidence of 12 deaths. No investigations have been carried out by the authorities. �There is not a single case where anyone has been brought to justice,� she said. �There is a total lack of accountability.�
>
> End of a tyrant... but not the end of the bloodshed: A grab from a video taken from the mobile phone of a National Transitional Council fighter showing the demise of Gaddafi last October
> At al-Huda prison centre in Misrata, Sheikh Fathy Daraz heads an Islamic charity for inmates� welfare.
>
> But he is at the mercy of the militia, who regularly take men away for questioning.
>
> �We see their bruises and their broken limbs when they return but we can do nothing,� he said. �There is no effective police force or national army yet.�
>
> Nearby at the city�s al-Head sports centre, the tennis courts and gym were deserted. A group of 25 brigades have taken over.
>
> Commander Mohamed al-Deaka is a former construction engineer. He was defensive about abuse by his men. �Yes it happens here, but it�s everywhere in Libya,� he said.
>
> �We have to use force to make prisoners give answers. Our city was destroyed in the fighting. Now we want to know who carried out the destruction, who raped our women and stole our property.�
>
> Khaled Ben Ali, head of LibAid, an umbrella organisation for humanitarian agencies, said that NTC ministers told him they were powerless: �The Prime Minister told me he had issued written orders for the surrender of weapons and the militias tore them up.
>
> �They fought for freedom and now they think they are free to do what they like. What they like is revenge. There is no effective judicial system. Maybe we need the UN Security Council to find new ways of protecting our civilians.�
>
> A government source said: �This is the result of our legacy from Gaddafi � brutalised people enacting revenge. But it must stop.�
>
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> Mr Cameron, William Hague, and sarkozy must be very proud at what they have achieved.
> - Fred, Milton Keynes, 13/2/2012 21:45Click to rate Rating 11Report abuse...the US fired a few Tomahawk missiles at air defence targets provided by the British and French who led the war...- Completely Average, Somewhere, 13/2/2012 20:35>>>>>>>>>>>>It is like a school...wasn�t me Miss..it was them. What is meant by a few..as I read from the Washington Post it was in the order of 110 Tomahawks..seems it was more than supporting.
> - Ken, Pamplona Spain, 13/2/2012 19:41Click to rate Rating 5Report abuseI seem to recall U.S. warships firing quite a few Tomahawk missiles into Libyan territory to disable air-defense systems. So this is "next to nothing"!!!!! - Ken, Pamplona Spain, 13/2/2012 13:28
>
> I seem to recall the US refusing to get involved until your British and French leaders came begging for it. And yes, the US fired a few Tomahawk missiles at air defence targets provided by the British and French who led the war. I do hope you noticed that I said it wasn't American PLANES AND HELICOPTERS who were bombing Libyan towns, those were all British and French.
> - Completely Average, Somewhere, 13/2/2012 19:35Click to rate Rating 6Report abuseI believe you mean France and Britian. America had next to nothing to do with Libya, and only gave British and French forces support that they (you) asked for.... Completely Average, Somewhere, 13/2/2012 18:33.>>>I seem to recall U.S. warships firing quite a few Tomahawk missiles into Libyan territory to disable air-defense systems. So this is "next to nothing"!!!!! By the way..it is Britain not Britian..Syria not Siria and Iran not Iren.
> - Ken, Pamplona Spain, 13/2/2012 19:28Click to rate Rating 3Report abuseAnother good job done. Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya all sorted. What next? Syria, Iran? Who is kidding who?
> - Martin, Lowestoft by the sea., 13/2/2012 18:18Click to rate Rating 14Report abuseWhat did you expect, they were never "freedom fighters" they were just armed thugs, aided by American and Britain. - Pete, London, 12/2/2012 7:55
>
> I believe you mean France and Britian. America had next to nothing to do with Libya, and only gave British and French forces support that they (you) asked for. It wasn't American jets or American helicopters that were bombing people in Lybia, it was French and British forces that did that.
> - Completely Average, Somewhere, 13/2/2012 17:33Click to rate Rating 4Report abuseUsually when the US Govt gets involved and throws money at a problem it works out fine. I'm not sure what happened here. Probably just an isolated incident. A few bad apples. The overwhelming majority of blah blah blah blah blah blah. I'm so bored of the Middle East.
> - Adam, USA, 13/2/2012 16:22Click to rate Rating 10Report abuseWe should have left them alone in the first place and never interfered! What did you expect?
> - MRS G, Manchester, 13/2/2012 14:45Click to rate Rating 44Report abuseWhy not offer a balanced point of view and allow comments from the ppl you are consistently insulating. by allowing post that insult a nationality or a people is excluding a significant number of your readers i should expect? Hope you can reply but doubt it.
> - AMFree, tripoli, Libya, 13/2/2012 14:37Click to rate Rating 12Report abuse@Pete, London
>
> 100% well said.
> - John, England, 13/2/2012 14:14Click to rate Rating 2Report abuseThe views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
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