On 3 November 1986, the corpse of a Hassan Mohamed Abou Naama was found in a well on a plot of farming land belonging to Mr Hmeed. After discovering the body and informing the police, the local police began investigating the case and Mr Hmeed was arrested and taken into custody shortly thereafter.
He was held in a solitary confinement in a tiny cell for one month despite the legal period of provisional custody being 48 hours. During that time he was tortured and authorities attempted to extract confessions regarding the murder of Mr Naama.
As a result of the torture and the accusations laid against him, Mr Hmeed was subject to intense psychological trauma and a state of depression which plagues him to this day.
Mr Hmeed was eventually sent to the criminal court of Tripoli and indicted on 28 January 1987. He was accused of the following charges:
1. Premeditated murder
2. Adultery committed with the wife of the victim
3. Digging a well on his property without permission from the administration
The criminal court held a hearing expeditiously on 2 April 1988, during which they charged Mr. Hmeed with the crime of rape and murder after which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The judgement was based solely on the testimonies of the wife of the victim and her brother, she was then accused of complicity to murder and prosecuted by the same proceedings.
Mr Hmeed appealed the ruling but was not retried under the pretext that the required formalities had not been completed and that the sentence his sentence was definite and without legal recourse.
Mr Hmeed's family made numerous informal calls upon political and judicial authorities in order that the case be reviewed; Mr Hmeed's wife argued that the investigation conducted by the department of criminal investigation was biased and many of the witnesses never gave their testimonies.
In 1994, the Secretary for Justice, asked the criminal investigative services to reopen Mr Abou Naama homicide case. However, after the intervention of senior officials of the State and especially that of a Colonel of the intelligence services, the case was quickly closed.
The family of the accused was able to acquire the services of a lawyer in 1997 in order to reopen the case however the prosecutor's office in Tripoli formally rejected the request of the lawyer on 15 March 1997. Hmeed's lawyer was recommended that he request a pardon for his client's release. But Mr Hmeed, convinced of his innocence, refused to seek grace and continued to demand a fair trial.
In 2007, Mr Hmeed's family was harassed after they decided to publicize Mr Hmeed's case during a peaceful demonstration on 17 February 2007. The demonstration aimed to denounce the lack of civil liberties and human rights violation going on in the country.
After threats and intimidation, around fifty armed officers in civilian clothes entered the Mr Hmeed's family home, smashing down the doors and shattering windows, before stealing and carrying away any object of value. Then they evacuated the members of the family and beat them, including an elderly mother before setting fire to the entire house.
Fredj Hmeed Saleh was also arrested and taken away by security agents.
The following day, Mr Hmeed's mother filed a complaint with the Attorney General for assault, battery, robbery and arson against agents of the security services, but no action has been taken to this date.
On the next day, 16 February 2007, men from the same intelligence services showed up at the homes of her other children, arrested them and took them to the headquarters of the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation. There, they were placed in cells of a few square meters, detained separately and held incommunicado.
Throughout this period of detention, they were all victims of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatments conducted by agents of the state. They all reported to have been severely beaten on all parts of the body, handcuffed and hung by their wrists. They were also forced to eat with their hands tied.
Six days later, all six brothers were transferred to the prison of Al-Jadida, where they were once again placed in individual cells and denied any medical care for the injuries caused by the torture.
The prison director personally informed them that "they would be denied medical care based on orders from the Attorney General. "
After five months detention, their ban on medical care was finally lifted. The prison doctor who examined them found traces of torture, and became particularly concerned by the severity of Saleh Ali Saleh Hmeed and Fredj Hmeed's medical condition. They were then prescribed an emergency examination and monitoring by a specialist in the hospital. Saleh Al Sadek Hmeed, was severely traumatized and advised to be sent to a psychiatric facility as his psychological stability was definitely imbalanced.
Despite the requests and suggestions of the doctor, the Prosecutor of the Court of State Security refused to take into account their needs for medical prescriptions and they were left without medical supervision throughout the entire period of their detention.
On 20 April 2007, two months and four days after their arrest, the Hmeed brothers and the other detainees implicated in the peaceful demonstration were brought before the special court of Tadjoura in Tripoli and charged with "planning to overthrow the government and possession of weapons."
However the special court remanded the case to the Revolutionary Security Court on 24 June 2007.
The Hmeed brothers and their co-defendants refused to appear in court due to the absence of a guarantee for a fair trial. They were finally convicted by the court on 6 April 2008 and given the following sentences:
- Al Sadek Saleh Hmeed: : 15 years imprisonment
- Al Mahdi Saleh Hmeed: : 15 years imprisonment
- Fredj Saleh: 15 years imprisonment
- Ali Saleh Hmeed: 6 ½ years imprisonment
- Adel Saleh Hmeed: acquitted
Nevertheless, on 7 December 2008 following an amnesty for "medical reasons" all the prisoners were released after a personal intervention made by Seif Al Islam Kaddafi, son of the head of state.
On 25 November 2009, after 23 years of detention Salem Saleh Hmeed was also released following an amnesty for "medical reasons".
The individuals responsible for the numerous violations of basic rights committed against Salem Saleh and his family have never been brought to justice. The family was received no compensation for their sons' arbitrary detentions nor Mr. Hmeed's 23 year detention and the pillaging and burning of their home.
In a communication sent to the Human Rights Committee Alkarama requested that they make the following recommendations:
1. To respond to the request for providing the necessary temporary security measures for the authors of the communication and the members of their families, so they may be ensured a guarantee of safety from the State.
2. To provide an effective means of redress for the authors of this communication, furthermore, to conduct a thorough investigation on the charges which were laid against Saleh Salem Hmeed, the ill-treatment he and his family suffered during their detentions and the destruction by fire of the family home and its pillaging.
3. To inform family members on the results of the investigation and appropriately compensate them for the violations they suffered.
4. To prosecute those responsible for Saleh Salem Hmeed's arbitrary detention in 1988 and his sons' in 2007, as well as those responsible for the fire, theft and physical assault conducted on his family members. That they be brought to justice and punished in accordance with the international commitments of the State Party.
5. To inform the Human Rights Committee of the measures taken in response to these findings and take the appropriate measures so that similar violations do not recur in the future.
6. To inform the State, within a given time frame, that the Committee wishes to conduct regular follow-ups to the conclusions of the investigations.