TRIPOLI, May 3, 2012 (AFP)
TRIPOLI, May 3, 2012 (AFP)
Libyan authorities granted immunity to former rebels who fought to oust Moamer Kadhafi’s regime and has criminalised any glorification of the former leader, in laws passed on Thursday.
“There is no punishment for acts made necessary by the February 17 revolution,” read the law published on the National Transitional Council’s website.
The immunity covers “military, security or civilian acts undertaken by revolutionaries with the aim of ensuring the revolution’s success and its goal,” the NTC added.
February 17 marks the start of a popular uprising which led to the collapse of Kadhafi’s regime last year.
It was unclear if the law includes acts committed after October 23, when the NTC declared Libya’s liberation following the capture and killing of strongman Kadhafi.
Rights groups say war crimes were committed by both sides during the 2011 conflict and warn of torture in detention centres run by militias made up of former rebels.
In further legislation to govern the country’s transition, the NTC criminalised the glorification of Kadhafi or his regime.
“Praising or glorifying Moamer Kadhafi, his regime, his ideas or his sons is punishable by a prison sentence,” said the text of the law read out to reporters by a judicial official after a high-level meeting.
