Libyan war crimes suspect arrested in Germany under ICC warrant
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Libyan ICC suspect arrested in Germany for prison abuses
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri was arrested in Germany on a sealed International Criminal Court warrant. He is accused of overseeing torture and sexual abuse at Mitiga prison in Tripoli. He will remain in German custody while legal proceedings are underway to transfer him to The Hague. The court praised German authorities for executing the arrest warrant and supporting international justice efforts. He would be the first Libyan suspect to stand trial at the ICC.
A Libyan man wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity has been arrested in Germany on a sealed International Criminal Court warrant. The suspect, Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, was allegedly a senior figure at Mitiga prison in Tripoli, where thousands of detainees were subjected to torture and sexual violence.
The ICC confirmed El Hishri’s arrest on Wednesday. He will remain in German custody while legal proceedings are underway to transfer him to The Hague.
Prosecutors accuse El Hishri of committing, ordering, or overseeing crimes including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence between February 2015 and early 2020. He is believed to have been a leading member of the Special Deterrence Force, an armed group active during Libya’s civil war.
According to the ICC, Mitiga was the largest detention facility in western Libya. Detainees were held in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions and subjected to brutal treatment, including systematic torture and rape. Both men and women suffered abuse during their time in custody.
The ICC prosecution office called the arrest a significant step in efforts to secure accountability for crimes committed in Libyan detention centers. It said it was prepared to begin trial proceedings and expressed gratitude to witnesses and victims who had come forward during the investigation.
“This development is so needed at a time of unprecedented turmoil in the field of accountability generally and at the ICC specifically,” said Kip Hale, a former UN investigator who documented war crimes in Libya.
El Hishri would be the first Libyan suspect to stand trial at the ICC. The court praised German authorities for executing the arrest warrant and supporting international justice efforts.
Libyan War Crimes Suspect Arrested in Germany on ICC Warrant
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, widely known as “Al-Buti,’ is alleged to have been a senior official at the notorious Mitiga Prison in Tripoli. The ICC issued the arrest warrant as part of its long-standing investigation into crimes committed during Libya’s ongoing conflict. Eight suspects, including Osama Najim, remain at large.
A Libyan man suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity has been arrested in Germany under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, authorities confirmed this week.
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, widely known as “Al-Buti,” is alleged to have been a senior official at the notorious Mitiga Prison in Tripoli, where thousands were unlawfully detained.
According to the ICC, Hishri is suspected of involvement in the murder, torture, and rape of prisoners between 2015 and 2020. There has been no public comment from Hishri regarding the allegations.
The ICC issued the arrest warrant as part of its long-standing investigation into crimes committed during Libya’s ongoing conflict following the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Since then, the country has remained fractured, with rival governments and armed militias vying for control.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the brutal conditions in detention centers like Mitiga, where migrants and civilians have reportedly faced systemic abuse.
This arrest marks the 11th warrant issued by the ICC in connection with post-Gaddafi violence. Eight suspects, including Osama Najim—allegedly a director of Mitiga Prison—remain at large.
Najim was controversially released by Italian authorities earlier this year, prompting condemnation from the ICC.
Libya accepted ICC jurisdiction for crimes committed on its territory between 2011 and 2027.
The court, supported by the UN Security Council’s 2011 referral, continues its pursuit of accountability for atrocities committed during the civil war.
Hishri is currently held in Germany and will be extradited to The Hague, where he will face trial.
The ICC reiterated its commitment to justice, even as key suspects evade capture and thousands remain detained under inhumane conditions in Libya.
Libyan war crimes suspect arrested in Germany under ICC warrant
Libyan war crimes suspect arrested in Germany under ICC warrant issued by the court. Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri is alleged to have been one of the most senior officials at the Mitiga Prison complex in the capital, Tripoli. He is suspected of having committed, ordered or overseen crimes including murder, torture and rape. The atrocities were allegedly committed in the detention unit near Tripoli in the five years from 2015. The ICC has issued 11 arrest warrants in connection with alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Libya since the ousting and killing of Muammar Gaddafi. Since the overthrow of Gaddafi, Libya has been split into areas controlled by various militias and is currently divided between two rival governments.
8 hours ago Share Save Anna Holligan BBC News, The Hague Share Save
Getty Images The International Criminal Court says German authorities arrested Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri on 16 July
A Libyan man suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity has been arrested in Germany on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, commonly known as “Al-Buti”, is alleged to have been one of the most senior officials at the Mitiga Prison complex in the capital, Tripoli, where thousands of people were detained. He is suspected of having committed, ordered or overseen crimes including murder, torture and rape. The atrocities were allegedly committed in the detention unit near Tripoli in the five years from 2015. There is no record of him commenting on the allegations.
The ICC has issued 11 arrest warrants in connection with alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Libya since the ousting and killing of the country’s long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, which plunged Libya into civil war. The situation was referred to the court by the United Nations Security Council in February 2011, at the start of the protests which led to Gaddafi’s ousting later that year, with the help of Nato forces. In its referral, the Security Council condemned the “violence and use of force against civilians… the gross and systematic violation of human rights, including the repression of peaceful demonstrators”. It also expressed “deep concern at the deaths of civilians”, while “rejecting unequivocally the incitement to hostility and violence against the civilian population made from the highest level of the Libyan government”, then under Gaddafi. Since the overthrow of Gaddafi, after six decades in power, Libya has been split into areas controlled by various militias and is currently divided between two rival governments. Mr Hishri was part of the Special Deterrence Force, also known as SDF/Rada, aligned to the interior ministry of the internationally recognised government based in Tripoli.
Getty Images Thousands of people, including migrants trying to reach Europe, are kept in Libyan detention centres, often in brutal conditions
On 12 May 2025, Libya accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction over its territory from 2011 to the end of 2027. Eight other public ICC arrest warrants are still pending in connection with the violence that followed the fall of Gaddafi. Earlier this year, Italy controversially released Osama Najim – also known as Almasri – who was allegedly the director of the Mitiga detention centre. Amnesty International says Mitiga Prison was the scene of “horrific violations committed with total impunity”. Some of those kept in Mitiga are migrants trying to reach Europe. Mr Najim was freed due to a legal technicality, according to sources in Italy’s interior ministry. The ICC said Mr Najim had been released by Italy “without prior notice or consultation with the Court” and issued another arrest warrant for him. He remains a fugitive. Mr Hishri will remain in detention in Germany until arrangements are made for him to be surrendered to the ICC’s custody and extradited to face justice in The Hague. The ICC thanked “all the victims and witnesses from Libya who have stepped forward to cooperate in the investigation. Their strength, courage and commitment make these important developments possible.” Mr Hishri’s case will join others in the court’s ongoing efforts to address crimes committed during Libya’s conflict, though other suspects remain at large.
Getty Images/BBC
Germany arrests Libyan war crimes suspect, El Hishri, on ICC warrant
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri allegedly served as a senior official at the notorious Mitiga prison near Tripoli. The 46-year-old was arrested at Berlin airport as he sought to fly to Tunis, on the basis of an ICC warrant that was issued on July 10. He is suspected of having committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence between February 2015 and early 2020, the court said. Libya is still grappling with the aftermath of the armed conflict that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, who was arrested on Wednesday, allegedly served as a senior official at the notorious Mitiga prison near Tripoli, the ICC said.
“He is suspected of having committed directly himself, ordered or overseen crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence” between February 2015 and early 2020, the court said in a statement.
Der Spiegel news magazine first reported that Hishri, 46, was arrested at Berlin airport as he sought to fly to Tunis, on the basis of an ICC warrant that was issued on July 10.
A spokesman for the Brandenburg regional prosecutor’s office confirmed to AFP that the Libyan was arrested at the airport on Wednesday morning.
ICC registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler thanked Germany and said such cooperative moves were “essential steps for proceedings to move forward and for victims to see justice delivered”.
Oil-rich Libya is still grappling with the aftermath of the armed conflict and political chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The country remains split between a United Nations-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east, controlled by the Haftar family
Italy frees war crimes suspect
Human rights investigators have long decried the abuses suffered by thousands of detainees, many of them irregular migrants, in crowded and unsanitary detention facilities, including Mitiga.
Earlier this year, the Italian government sparked a heated debate over its decision to release and expel another Libyan war crimes suspect involved in running Mitiga, Osama Almasri Najim.
Najim, the head of Libya’s judicial police, was arrested in Turin on January 19 on an ICC warrant, only to be released and flown home to Tripoli two days later on an Italian air force plane.
Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio defended his release, saying the ICC warrant for his arrest had been poorly written.
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said in May that the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity had accepted the court’s authority to investigate alleged war crimes despite not being party to the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty.
Khan also called on Libya’s prosecutor general Al-Seddik al-Sour to arrest Najim “and surrender him to the ICC”.
Man accused of crimes against humanity at Libyan prison arrested in Germany, ICC says
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri was allegedly one of the most senior officials at Mitiga Prison in Tripoli. He was arrested on Wednesday based on a warrant issued by the court on 10 July. He is suspected of having committed directly himself, ordered or overseen crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence. The court’s prosecution office hailed the arrest as “an important development” in efforts to seek accountability for crimes in detention facilities.
A Libyan man accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of crimes against humanity and war crimes was arrested in Germany on a sealed arrest warrant, the court announced on Friday.
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri was allegedly one of the most senior officials at Mitiga Prison in Tripoli where thousands of people were detained.
He was arrested on Wednesday based on a warrant issued by the court on 10 July.
“He is suspected of having committed directly himself, ordered or overseen crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence, allegedly committed in Libya from February 2015 to early 2020,” the ICC said in a statement.
The court’s prosecution office hailed the arrest as “an important development” in efforts to seek accountability for crimes in detention facilities in Libya.
Prisoners gather in a hallway in a makeshift prison at a school in Misrata, 8 September, 2011 AP Photo
It said it was ready for his trial, which would be the first of a Libyan suspect at the court.
The office also thanked “all the victims and witnesses from Libya who have stepped forward to cooperate in the investigation. Their strength, courage and commitment make these important developments possible.”
El Hishri will remain in custody in Germany until legal proceedings to have him transported to The Hague are completed.
The court relies on other countries to execute its arrest warrants. It paid tribute to German authorities for detaining El Hishri.
“I thank the national authorities for their strong and consistent cooperation with the Court, including leading to this recent arrest,” ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler said in a statement.
The United Nations Security Council called on the ICC to open an investigation in Libya in 2011 amid violence that led to the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi and morphed into a crippling civil war.
The court issued a warrant for the long-time Libyan strongman, but he was killed by rebels before he could be detained.
The court has arrest warrants out for eight other Libyan suspects, including one of Gaddafi’s sons.
Earlier this year, authorities in Libya accepted the court’s jurisdiction over the country from 2011 through to the end of 2027.