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| Africa North |
| Libya urges judicial protection |
| 2013-11-17 |
| [MAGHAREBIA] Faced with a string of liquidations targeting judges and lawyers across the country, Libya's justice minister on Sunday (November 10th) appealed for aid. "The judiciary must be respected, and its orders must be enforced. The judiciary is not incapable, but the security situation strongly affects the performance of judiciary; the better security is, the better judiciary's performance will be," Interim Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said in a presser. He called on all those who love Libya to support and protect judges and prevent any harm against them. "The protection of judges is a concern for us. We transfer all those who are threatened, or those who feel threatened. We opposed the idea of creating brigades to protect judges beyond state authority. We didn't accept in the past, and won't accept in the future, any prisons, camps, brigades or gunnies operating outside legitimacy," the minister said. He noted, "We've been working for three months to form a judicial protection force consisting of 1,000 soldiers to defend judicial institutions." "Those who commit violations will be held legally accountable regardless of their positions," the minister continued. As far as justice was concerned, al-Marghani said, "We're about to sign a technical support agreement with the United States, one of the countries that support Libya, to provide judicial and criminal assistance to help us in many security cases as per the plans that we started to implement." Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats grabbed his rosco... Libya's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) issued a statement urging the government to do more to protect justice officials. The SJC condemned "the stark, gross accusations that lead to the blocking of justice", and called for "immediately stopping such practices against the members of judiciary" and holding those who contribute to them accountable for their actions. The statement came two days after the murder of the attorney general of the Green Mountain Appeal District, Mohammed Khalifa al-Naas. He was killed when a bomb blew up under his car in Derna on November 9th. "If judges are not protected, how can we be sure that they will issue fair judgments without any fear or bias?" asked Mahasen Bashir, a preparatory school teacher in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... . "Libya needs the judiciary to stabilise, and judgments need to be enforced." Sabriya Ali, a lawyer from Tripoli, said, "If we're guaranteed protection, things will move towards the better. Courts will redress grievances, and in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, criminals will be tossed in the calaboose Please don't kill me! and punished. In this way, thieves and killers will be deterred, and things will just move towards the better." She added, "Members of the judiciary joined the revolution as of its beginning, and no one can accuse them of anything as they were the ones who released the first spark. Chancellor Mustafa Abdul Jalil is another proof, not to mention the demonstrations opposite Benghazi and Tripoli courts." In his turn, Fathi Abdul Qadir al-Touhami, an engineer in Tripoli, said, "I think that when courts operate and pass punishments, this will be an important factor, coupled with active trade, in establishing stability and security. In this case, people will just pay attention to their own affairs and avoid the violations that courts will examine. Police will enforce judgments and the army will protect the country and borders." "Security starts with protecting judges as the country will only rest when courts operate under their judges, issue judgments and have them enforced," commented Samira al-Turki, a secondary school teacher in Tripoli. |
| Posted by:Fred |