2 families sue Libya’s Haftar for ‘war crimes’

Two Libyan families have filed a lawsuit against the head of eastern army, General Khalifa Haftar, accusing him of torture and committing “war crimes”.

Renowned American lawyer, Kevin Carroll, who represents the Al-Suyids and the Al-Krshinys families, said his clients were tortured in Libya and had members of their families killed by Haftar’s forces, adding that “Haftar will pay the price of the crimes he had committed”.

“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,” said Carroll, during a press conference on Monday, adding that “they can and will face American justice”.

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According to Carroll, one of the plaintiffs; Ibrahim Al-Krshiny “was taken into custody, stripped, bound and beaten with fists, pipes and cables”.

“He was forced to stand in water and be painfully electrocuted for five minutes at a time for seven and a half hours. Then he underwent what was essentially a mock execution,” he added.

Caroll explained that “Haftar’s actions violate the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, and he is responsible for war crimes”, stressing that Haftar “is not a president of the state, has no immunity, and he must return to Virginia to face charges before the court”.

Haftar owns 17 properties in the United States, Caroll added, and the families have good chances of winning substantial compensation for the pain and suffering they endured as a result of Haftar and his militia’s actions.