Libyan authorities arrested Osama Elmasry Njeem in Tripoli on November 5, 2025, but have yet to surrender him to the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite an existing warrant for his arrest on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, Human Rights Watch reported today.
Njeem, a senior member of the Deterrence Apparatus for Countering Terrorism and Organized Crime, a Tripoli-based militia, is accused of abuses committed in Mitiga Prison since 2015, including murder, torture, and rape. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Njeem on January 18, 2025, alleging his responsibility for these crimes.
This is not the first instance of difficulty in securing Njeem’s appearance before the ICC. On January 19, 2025, Italian authorities arrested him in Turin, acting on the ICC’s warrant. However, within 48 hours, Njeem was returned to Libya, a move that drew widespread criticism. The Rome Court of Appeal ordered his release and transfer, prompting the ICC to issue a press release outlining the events.
The ICC has since requested its member states to hold Italy accountable for its failure to cooperate with the court, according to a statement issued in January 2026.
Libya is obligated to cooperate with the ICC under a 2011 United Nations Security Council resolution referring the situation in Libya to the ICC prosecutor. Libyan authorities accepted the court’s jurisdiction over crimes committed within its territory or by Libyan nationals from 2011 until the end of 2027, as confirmed in May 2025.
Human Rights Watch has documented widespread inhumane conditions in Libyan detention centers and prisons, often run by abusive armed groups. Detainees face overcrowding, torture, arbitrary detention, and unlawful killings. The organization’s research indicates that Libya’s justice sector is plagued by due process violations and a lack of willingness to investigate serious crimes.
The Libyan general prosecutor’s office announced on March 5, 2026, that it had identified three suspects in the assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed on February 3, 2026, near Zintan. Gaddafi had been under the protection of an armed group that detained him in 2011 and released him in 2017, citing an amnesty law.
Seven other Libyans remain subject to outstanding ICC arrest warrants, including Saif Suleiman Sneidel, a member of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces wanted for war crimes. ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Khan called for Sneidel’s surrender to The Hague in a November 25, 2025, address to the UN Security Council. The other fugitives are Abdurahem Khalefa Abdurahem Elshgagi, Makhlouf Makhlouf Arhoumah Doumah, Nasser Muhammad Muftah Daou, Mohamed Mohamed Al Salheen Salmi, Abdelbari Ayyad Ramadan Al Shaqaqi, and Fathi Faraj Mohamed Salim Al Zinkal.
Human Rights Watch has received no response to a December 2025 letter to Libya’s general prosecutor requesting information on the charges against Njeem, his location, and Libya’s cooperation with the ICC.
Libya’s Justice Minister, Halima Ibrahim Abdelrahman, stated in 2024 that she was, “as a matter of principle,” against extraditing Libyan nationals for trial abroad, and conveyed this position to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan during his visit to Tripoli in April 2024.
The ICC opened an investigation into the situation in Libya in 2011, following a referral by the UN Security Council. It has issued arrest warrants against 14 individuals for crimes committed during the 2011 revolution, subsequent hostilities, and in detention facilities. Pretrial proceedings are underway in the case of Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, who was surrendered by Germany in December 2025, also concerning abuses at Mitiga Prison.
