HRW urges Libya to resolve fate of missing journalists

Human Rights Watch on Saturday called on Libyan authorities to exert the utmost efforts to resolve the fate of missing journalists in the war-torn country.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Muftah al-Qatrani, a television journalist from Benghazi, was shot dead in his office on April 23, 2015, raising the number of killings to nine.

“Journalists in Libya work under difficult circumstances and risk their lives to provide the public with information denied them under the former government,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director.

“The authorities should do all they can to resolve the fate of both groups of missing journalists and do more to protect media workers in the country,” he added.

The Tunisian and Libyan Authorities should provide details on the fate of all missing journalists, and hold those responsible for crimes against them accountable, Human Rights Watch said.

If it is confirmed that the foreign journalists have been killed, Libyan authorities should do everything possible to locate their remains and return them to their families in Tunisia, Goldstein noted.