Hamas condemns conviction of 4 ‘innocent’ Palestinians in Libya

Hamas yesterday condemned Libya’s conviction of four Palestinians from Gaza over claims they have links to Hamas, a statement said.

In the statement, Hamas described the ruling against Marwan Al-Ashqar, his son Baraa, Mo’ayyad Abed and Nasib Al-Ashqar as “unfair” stressing that they are in Libya to study or work.

Following the verdicts, Hamas said that Marwan Al-Ashqar “has never interfered in Libya’s domestic affairs or done anything that might have undermined security in Libya,” noting that his son Baraa was arrested when he was 14.

“Hamas has preferred to remain silent for a long time in spite of the torture and oppression inflicted on these Palestinian citizens … it had contacted many sides in a bid to sort out this issue, but the response was surprising unfair verdicts,” the statement said.

The movement went on to urge Libyan authorities and officials to intervene immediately in order to stop this oppression.

Last week a Libyan court sentenced the four men to jail terms of between 17 and 22 years over claims they were smuggling weapons to Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip. They had been arrested in October 2016 and, according to rights groups, they were beaten and severely tortured. As a result, Baraa has lost sight in one of his eyes.

READ: Hamas denies claims of military involvement in Libya