Unity Party’s Head arrested in eastern Libya after criticizing parallel prime minister

The Unity Party has announced the arrest of its leader, Al-Senussi Al-Haliq, who also heads the Supreme Council of the Zuwiya Tribes, following remarks he made in the presence of House of Representatives Speaker Aguila Saleh in which he criticized parallel government Prime Minister Osama Hammad. The party called for his immediate and unconditional release.

The Libyan Organization for Human Rights also called for clarification of Al-Haliq’s legal status and disclosure of the reasons for his summons or detention by the Internal Security Agency in Benghazi, stressing the need to guarantee his safety, dignity and legal rights.

In a statement, the organization called for an end to incitement, generalizations and insults directed at any Libyan social group. It said that if Al-Haliq is accused of a specific violation, the matter should be handled by the competent investigative and judicial authorities, while guaranteeing his right to a defense as well as his safety and dignity.

The organization added that if there is no legal basis for his continued detention, he should be released in accordance with the law. It stressed that the Zuwiya tribe, along with all other Libyan tribes and social groups, is an integral part of Libya’s national fabric and that an individual incident should not be turned into a confrontation between social groups or used to hold an entire tribe responsible for the actions of one of its members.

Al-Haliq was arrested following remarks he made in the presence of Aguila Saleh in which he strongly criticized parallel government Prime Minister Osama Hammad and accused him of attempting to stir up discord and bring about demographic change in the region by granting a vast area of land to non-Libyan Tebu.

Areas within the geographical and social sphere of the Zuwiya tribe are witnessing heightened tension following reports that activists and tribal elders are preparing for broad escalatory measures unless Al-Senussi Al-Haliq Al-Zuwi is released.