Annex (1): The Abu Salim Prison Massacre
| Ref: PRS 2026/06/1058 | June 29, 2026 |
Annex (1): The Abu Salim Prison Massacre
Introduction
Abu Salim Prison is located in the Abu Salim district, southwest of central Tripoli, approximately four kilometers from the city center. Construction of the prison was completed in 1984 to replace the Al-Hissan Al-Aswad (Black Horse) Prison, a remnant of the Italian colonial era.
The first group of political prisoners was transferred to Abu Salim following their arrest during the events of May 1984, known as the Bab al-Aziziyah Incident[1]. In September of the same year, all political detainees were moved to the new central facility, and the old Black Horse Prison was demolished.
The Prison
Abu Salim Prison lies within the compound of the Military Police Command. It consists of two parallel facilities: the Central Prison and the Military Prison.
Detainees
- On 2 March 1988, the number of political detainees was approximately 530.
- On 3 March 1988, 404 detainees were released under a general amnesty known as “Asbah al-Subh” (“The Morning Has Come”).
- On 8 March 1988, an additional 22 detainees were released.
- Around 100 detainees remained in the central facility and were not included in the amnesty.
The Expansion of Arbitrary Detention
Following the 1988 amnesty, the security services of the former regime launched a series of mass arrest campaigns between 1988 and 1996:
- From December 1988 to March 1989, hundreds of citizens were arrested across Libya and classified into three categories: A, B, and C.
- In October 1993, following a failed coup attempt, several hundred military and civilian personnel were detained.
- In the spring and summer of 1994, dozens of civilians were arrested during the Ajdabiya Siege
- In late March 1995, 306 detainees from category C were released.
- Between May and August 1995, the authorities carried out several large-scale arrest campaigns targeting hundreds of people[2], particularly in Benghazi, Derna, al-Bayda, and Ajdabiya in the east, and Tripoli and Misrata in the west.
The Situation in September 1995
The repeated arrest campaigns led to a sharp increase in the prison population and a severe deterioration in detention conditions.
Central Prison
- Wards 1 and 2 housed category C
- Wards 3 to 6 housed categories A and B.
- Wards 7 and 8 were solitary confinement units holding detainees from the October 1993 case.
- Anyone accused—under torture and degrading treatment—of belonging to “prohibited organizations” was transferred to the central facility.
Military Prison
- Ward 1 held the 100 detainees excluded from the March 1988 amnesty.
- Wards 3 to 8 held detainees under interrogation, conducted in the prison administration building.
Friday, 28 June 1996
On the evening of 28 June 1996, a group of prisoners in Ward 4 attacked three guards during the distribution of the evening meal. Gunfire erupted, resulting in the death of several prisoners and one guard. Prisoners in Ward 4 managed to open several other wards, except the solitary units and category C wards.
A large security team led by Colonel Abdullah al-Senussi, head of military intelligence, arrived at the prison. He requested that each ward (3–6) select a representative, and negotiations began to end the standoff and return prisoners to their cells.
Prisoners’ Demands
- Access to medical care for sick detainees.
- Improvement of detention conditions (healthcare, food, hygiene, drinking water, treatment by guards).
- Ending prolonged arbitrary detention without trial by referring detainees to the prosecution and judiciary.
- Allowing family visits and ending total isolation from the outside world.
Negotiations continued late into the night. Prisoners returned to their cells after receiving assurances from the security delegation, led by al-Senussi, that their demands would be met. The crisis was resolved peacefully at around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, 29 June 1996.
Saturday, 29 June 1996
Early that morning, buses arrived and approximately 150 prisoners were taken to hospitals—some were injured in the previous night’s events, while most suffered from chronic or serious illnesses, including infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
Category C detainees (Wards 1 and 2) were transferred from the central prison to the adjacent military prison, and some detainees were moved in the opposite direction.
At around 11:00 a.m., heavy gunfire was heard. It continued for about an hour before falling silent. This was the moment when the mass killing took place, claiming the lives of more than 1,200 detainees.
The Authorities’ Response
Despite the climate of secrecy, repression, and international isolation due to UN sanctions over the Lockerbie case, news of the massacre leaked. On 19 July 1996, Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action titled[3]: “Libya: Political prisoners in Abu Salim Prison, Tripoli – Fear for safety / Deliberate killings / Medical neglect.”
The Libyan authorities not only denied the massacre but also continued to deny the existence of political prisoners altogether.
In September 2000, the prison administration was replaced[4], and conditions improved somewhat—possibly due to internal reviews or the political rise of Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, who later established a human rights organization under the Gaddafi Foundation.
In October 2000, detainees were referred to the prosecution office of the People’s Court, an extra-judicial tribunal which was later abolished in 2006.
Erosion of Secrecy and Official Acknowledgment
In January 2003, Libya was elected to chair the UN Commission on Human Rights, placing its human rights record under scrutiny. Later that year, the regime agreed to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs in exchange for lifting sanctions, initiating a period of political opening.
Since its establishment in 2003, the Human Rights Society of the Gaddafi Foundation began speaking about the need to address human rights violations, including deaths in custody and enforced disappearances.
In February 2004, the regime allowed an Amnesty International delegation to visit Abu Salim Prison, meet detainees, and visit families of victims. At the end of the visit, the delegation met Muammar Gaddafi in Sirte, where he acknowledged for the first time that “events” had taken place in the prison—though he presented a distorted narrative.
On 18 April 2004, Gaddafi publicly affirmed before the Supreme Judicial Council the “right of families to know the fate of their relatives”.
In May 2009, during a visit by Human Rights Watch, the Minister of Justice, Mustafa Abdeljalil, stated that the authorities had notified 750–800 families of the deaths of their relatives, while around 400 families had not yet been informed.
After the fall of the regime in August 2011, the Libyan Human Rights Solidarity (LHRS) obtained official lists of the victims:
- 587 victims whose families had been notified.
- 571 victims whose families were intended to be notified. Total: 1,158 victims. Later, three additional victims were identified, bringing the total to 1,161.
The Abu Salim Victims’ Families Coordination Committee
In the summer of 2007, ninety-four families filed a lawsuit before the North Benghazi Primary Court demanding disclosure of the fate of their relatives. The court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. The families appealed, and on 19 April 2008, the Court of Appeal ruled that the judiciary did have jurisdiction. On 8 June 2008, the primary court ordered the state to disclose the fate of dozens of detainees.
Other families filed similar cases, and the court ordered the authorities to reveal the fate of 80 additional detainees.
The families formed the Abu Salim Victims’ Families Coordination Committee to organize legal actions and public protests. Due to severe restrictions on freedom of assembly, the committee was not granted legal status but continued its work until the fall of the regime following the 17 February 2011 uprising, which was sparked by the arrest of the committee’s spokesperson, lawyer Fathi Terbil, and two of his colleagues on 15 February 2011.
The UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva
LHRS, in cooperation with the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), submitted complaints[5] to the UN Human Rights Committee. The Committee concluded that Libya had committed grave violations against three victims of the Abu Salim massacre and their families and called on the state to disclose their fate and provide reparations.
During Libya’s Universal Periodic Review[6] (UPR) on 9 November 2010, the Abu Salim massacre featured prominently, with numerous states urging Libya to conduct an independent investigation and hold those responsible accountable.
Human Rights Solidarity Organization
Tripoli, Libya
June 29, 2026
[1] Bab al‑Aziziyah compound was the residence of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the headquarters of the General Command. The attack on the compound was carried out by a cell affiliated with the National Front for the Salvation of Libya.
[2] The arrest campaign was the regime’s response to a bold operation—viewed as a direct challenge—carried out by an armed group that stormed a hospital in Benghazi and extracted a patient who had been detained by the Internal Security Agency. The patient was in a coma at the time. From May 1995 to August 1998, the security situation in eastern Libya, particularly in Benghazi, was tense and marked by clashes between armed groups and regime security forces, followed by wide‑scale arrest campaigns.
[3] Amnesty International: “Libya: Political prisoners in AbuSalim Prison, Tripoli – Fear for safety / Deliberate killings / Medical neglect, AI Index: MDE 19/05/96)”.
[4] The new prison director was later imprisoned in 2008 on charges of being excessively lenient in maintaining control over the facility.
[5] UN OHCHR: “HR Committee 90th Session, Communication No. 1295/2004”, 29th August 2009; “HR Committee 91st Session, Communication No. 1422/2005”, 13th November 2009; “HR Committee 100th Session, Communication No. 1776/2008”, 2nd November 2010.
[6] Human Rights Council: “Universal Periodic Review – Libya, First Cycle”, 9th November 2010.
