Libya: Concern over detainee abuse

In 'Detention Abuses Staining the New Libya', Amnesty International reveals a pattern of beatings and ill-treatment of captured al-Gaddafi soldiers, suspected loyalists and alleged mercenaries in western Libya. In some cases there is clear evidence of torture in order to extract confessions or as a punishment. 'There is a real risk that without firm and immediate action, some patterns of the past might be repeated. Arbitrary arrest and torture were a hallmark of Colonel al-Gaddafi's rule,' said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.