Abdeladim Benali, born in 1969 and residing in Darna, Libya, is a technician employed by a furniture manufacturing company. While he was detained in the prison of Abu Slim, he was transferred to an unknown place on 23 March 2007 and has since disappeared.
Abdeladim Benali was arrested on February 16, 2005 by the services of Interior Security. He was taken to their headquarters in Benghazi where he was tortured for several days. He was then transferred to the Al Abiar center of the same services. He was held incommunicado until early 2006 and then imprisoned in Abu Slim. His family was only able to visit him, once per month, starting May 2006 and until September 2006. His family then learned that he had been subjected to serious abuse and torture and had never been the subject of any judicial process.
Because of being unable to obtain any news of him, the two organisations have decided to refer his case to the Committee and to request protective measures, including placing him under the protection of the law and to allow his family to have contact with him.
In October 2006 a hunger strike was organised to protest against the authorities' refusal to release some detainees who have completed their sentences and to refer those who had not been tried for several years before the Justice. On October 4, the Libyan authorities triggered the intervention of the security services of the prison. During this intervention, officers have used their firearms killing at least one inmate and injuring about ten others.
Alkarama had, after the disappearance, launched on May 18, 2007 an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur on torture as it had previously, on November 22, 2006 alerted the High Commissioner for Human Rights to inform the disappearance of three prisoners of Abu Slim prison, Tripoli, Libya, who had been sentenced to death on 21 December 2004.
Libya is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since May 15, 1970, and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading since May 16, 1989, and is obliged to respect its international commitments and guarantee its citizens the effective implementation of internationally protected rights.