Haftar sued in US for torture and killings in Libya

Two Libyan families have filed a US civil lawsuit against commander Khalifa Haftar and his sons for torturing and killing their relatives. The lawsuit relies on the 1991 Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows family members of victims of torture and extrajudicial killing to sue those responsible.

Before leading a rival faction in Libya’s civil war, Haftar lived in the US state of Virginia with two of his sons, Khaled and Mustafa. The complaint seeks more than $75,000 in compensation. “Unlike other people who engaged in torture and extrajudicial killing oversees, Khalifa Haftar and his sons are American citizens and own significant amounts of property here. They can and will face American justice”, said the lawyer of the families.

The lawsuit alleges that in 2014, forces loyal to Haftar launched “Operation Dignity” in Benghazi, Libya, during which they attacked the homes and killed six members of two families. One of the brothers who were released said he was taken into custody, stripped, bound, electrocuted, and beaten.

Haftar was a lieutenant under then-president Muammar Gaddafi. In 1987 he moved to the US, where he became a citizen and is widely believed to have worked for the CIA. In 2011, after Gaddafi was toppled and Libya was plunged into civil war, Haftar returned to become the chief of the LNA. Hs sons became military officials under his command. The LNA is backed by the United Arab Emirates, France, Russia and Egypt, while Turkey is the main supporter of Libya’s UN-recognised government, the GNA.