Libya
Journalists arrested or missingPosted Apr 14 2011
At least 15 journalists are missing or in government custody in Libya, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
American freelancer Matthew VanDyke is among those missing. VanDyke’s location has been unknown since the last GPS tracking email of his coordinates was received on March 13, according to CPJ. A Libyan friend told VanDyke’s mother on April 4 that he was believed to be captured by Gaddafi forces with three other Libyans on March 13 or 14 near Brega; they and more than 1,000 Libyan civilians were then transported to Surt, a Gaddafi stronghold.
Gaddafi forces detained photographers Manuel Varela, Anton Hammerl, James Foley and reporter Clare Morgana Gills outside Brega on April 7, according to CPJ. They are currently in government custody.
At least six other local journalists are unaccounted for and are believed to be in the custody of Gaddafi forces, according to CPJ.
One of four arrested Al Jazeera reporters was released by Libyan authorities on April 3, according to CPJ. Lotfi al-Messaoudi arrived in Tunisia that night. The remaining journalists, Ahmed Vall Ould Addin, Kamel Atalua and Ammar al-Hamdan are still in custody.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported a detailed account of attacks against protesters and civilians in Libya.
One family’s car was fired upon my uniformed soldiers as they tried to leave their dangerous neighborhood, killing three members and wounding a woman and an 8-month-old baby. “My wife was holding my son,” Jamal Muhammad Suaib told HRW. “The bullet hit her in the arm and ricocheted into my son’s face. None of us had a weapon.”
Hazma Muhammad Kariat attended a protest against in the city of Misrata. He said tanks and soldiers advanced towards the crowd and opened fire. “It was a slaughterhouse,” Kariat told HRW. “I was hit by a sniper in the back, and there were five other injured people in the ambulance with me.” Kariat was paralyzed from the waist down, according to HRW.