Twenty-three jihadists convicted of fighting for the Islamic State (IS) group were sentenced to death by a court in Libya on Monday, the prosecutor’s office said.
Fourteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
A judicial source initially claimed that 35 defendants had been sentenced to death and 13 others to life imprisonment.
The verdicts were handed down by the court in Misrata (east), the city from which most of the fighters killed during an offensive against IS aimed at dislodging the jihadist organization from Sirte, its stronghold in northern Libya, originated. in 2015 and 2016.
During this trial, which opened in August 2022, three minors were also sentenced to ten years in prison, lawyer Lotfi Mohaychem, who represents children, told AFP after the hearing. families of people killed fighting ISIS.
In total, around fifty jihadists were found guilty of murder and belonging to a terrorist organization.
In addition to the defendants sentenced to death or life imprisonment, nine others received sentences ranging from three to twelve years, and five were acquitted, according to the prosecution.
Placed in the dock, dressed in blue uniforms, with shaved heads and beards, the defendants appeared in a crowded room, where the families of those killed during the battle for the liberation of Sirte were present.
Of Libyan, Sudanese or Palestinian nationality, the accused were arrested in December 2016, after the recapture of Sirte, a coastal city 450 km from Tripoli.
“As lawyers for the families of the victims, we see the court’s verdict as very satisfactory and very fair (…) The court sentenced those whose guilt was proven and acquitted those against whom there was no not enough evidence,” Mohaychem said.
When the verdicts were read, several women gave vent to their joy, amidst applause and ululations, chanting “God is Great” and “the blood of martyrs has not been shed in vain”.
IS seized Sirte in June 2015, taking advantage of the chaos since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 after a popular revolt.
During their counter-offensive, the local forces had benefited from the support of the American army which had mobilized drones, combat ships and fighter planes until the recapture of the city.