Libya: Release humanitarian activists detained for seeking to deliver aid to Gaza
The Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) must ensure the immediate release of 10 members of the Global Sumud Land Convoy who have been arbitrarily detained for over two weeks in eastern Libya solely for attempting to deliver aid to Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing genocide, Amnesty International said today.
On 24 May 2026, an armed group affiliated with the self-proclaimed LAAF, the de facto authorities in eastern and southern Libya, arbitrarily arrested the 10 humanitarian activists from eight different countries. The four men and six women were arrested while en route to Sirte to negotiate with local authorities the convoy’s passage.
Following periods of enforced disappearance ranging from two to nine days, prosecutors interrogated them before ordering their pretrial detention pending investigations into charges of “assembly without authorization.” If convicted, they face up to six months in prison and/or a fine.
“At a time when Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are grappling with Israel’s ongoing genocide and catastrophic humanitarian conditions, it is utterly disgraceful that individuals seeking to deliver humanitarian assistance and end Israel’s unlawful blockade have been met with arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and prosecution on bogus charges in Libya,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Regional Researcher at Amnesty International.
“No one should be punished for undertaking peaceful humanitarian action and trying to stop human rights abuses. The Libyan Arab Armed Forces must ensure the immediate and unconditional release of the activists, and in the meantime ensure that they have prompt and regular access to their families, consular representatives, lawyers and any medical care they require.”
From 1 June and at least until 4 June 2026, the detainees, whose ages range from 30 to 70 and who are nationals of Argentina, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Uruguay, and the USA, went on hunger strike to protest their detention and denial of access to their lawyers and families.
To investigate the arrest and detention of GMLV activists, Amnesty International interviewed a member of Global Sumud Flotilla legal team who had been in contact with the detainees until their arrest, a member of an international organization present in Libya who has information about the case, and another person, who received a phone call from a detainee on 4 June 2026.
On 17 May 2026, the convoy comprising more than 200 participants who had intended to drive to Gaza over land halted its journey and camped at a location approximately 9km from Sirte due to security concerns about the concentration of armed men nearby. One week later, on 24 May 2026, a delegation of 10 convoy participants proceeded toward Sirte to seek permission from the local authorities for the convoy to continue its journey. An armed group affiliated with the LAAF arrested the group at a security checkpoint near Sirte, without informing them of the reasons for their arrest.
The 10 were then escorted into unmarked white vans and forced onto a plane to Benghazi where they were held in an unknown detention facility without allowing them to contact their lawyers or families. Authorities in eastern Libya had concealed the exact fate and whereabouts of eight detainees since their arrest on 24 May and until 2 June , which amounts to enforced disappearance. The authorities forcibly disappeared the remaining two detainees for two days before a diplomatic official managed to visit them on 27 May 2026.
The Global Sumud convoy’s mission came to an end on 25 May 2026 after unidentified armed men dispersed the convoy’s encampment and compelled its members to return to Tripoli. That same day, the ministry of foreign affairs of the Benghazi-based “Libyan Government”, allied to LAAF, said in a statement that the convoy had entered Libya while travelling toward Gaza without completing the requisite legal procedures or securing the permits to enter and move within the country.
The member of Global Sumud Flotilla legal team told Amnesty International that the group had spent months coordinating with relevant authorities and had obtained guarantees ensuring safe passage of the convoy.
A video published by local media on 2 June 2026 showed the detainees being transferred in police cars to and alighting at the public prosecution’s office in Benghazi. Local media reported that the authorities had transferred the 10 activists to an “illegal” migration detention facility after prosecutors ordered their detention.
On 3 June 2026, prosecutors interrogated the 10 on the charge of “assembly without authorization”, with a lawyer present. Prosecutors ordered their pretrial detention for 10 days. After the questioning, authorities transferred them to the headquarters of the ISA in Benghazi. For the first time since they were arrested, they were allowed to call their families.
Since their hunger strike, several detainees have experienced health complications. Despite this, they are receiving little to no medical care at a detention facility run by the Internal Security Agency (ISA) in Benghazi, an armed group operating under the de facto authority of the LAAF with a [https://libya:%20Government%20of%20National%20Unity%20must%20not%20legitimize%20militias%20and%20armed%20groups%20responsible%20for%20harrowing%20abuses%20-%20Amnesty%20International/]well-documented record to involvement in arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearances. As of 4 June 2026, the ISA continued to deny one detainee regular access to their diabetes medication. Several detainees experienced low blood sugar levels; some fainted and one suffered a seizure.
Background
The GSLC is a civilian humanitarian mission that departed from Mauritania on 25 April 2026 with the aim of breaking the illegal siege on Gaza, delivering life-saving humanitarian aid and supporting rehabilitation efforts.
Libya has been divided between two entities and parallel institutions competing for legitimacy and control since 2014. The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, appointed through an UN-mediated process in March 2021, has been struggling to exercise effective control over Libyan territory. GNU’s rival, the Benghazi-based “Libyan Government”, is allied to the LAAF, which controls and carries out government-like functions in Benghazi, the second-largest city in Libya, and large swathes of eastern and southern Libya, including the Sirte district. Where de facto authorities, such as the LAAF, are in control of territory and exercise government-like functions, they are bound by human rights obligations.
*An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the 10 activists arrested were from nine different countries including Canada. The article has been updated to clarify there are in fact no Canadian nationals among those arrested.
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