BBC staff ‘arrested and tortured in Libya by Gaddafi forces’ | Philip Brennan

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BBC staff ‘arrested and tortured in Libya by Gaddafi forces’

Posted by Editor on Mar 09, 2011 | Comments Off

Journalists subjected to mock execution in ordeal which represents most serious incident against international media.

Peter Beaumont | The Guardian | 9 March 2011:

Two journalists working for the BBC in Libya say they were arrested, tortured and subjected to a mock execution by security forces of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

The shocking account of their experiences, including being held in a cage in a militia barracks while others were tortured around them, was made available to media colleagues in Tripoli after the men had been released and left the country.

At one point during their captivity the men had shots fired past their heads as they were led into a barracks.

One of the men was attacked repeatedly with fists, boots, rifle butts, a stick and piece of pipe. He also described trying to help other victims of torture whom they saw, some of whom had had their ribs broken during beatings.

The ordeal represents the most serious incident yet involving the targeting of the international media and may offer an insight into the fate of many of those opposition supporters who have been rounded during the regime's crackdown on its opponents.

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Tags: BBC, Freedom of the Press, Libya, Mock Executions, Muammar Gaddafi, Peter Beaumont, Press Freedom, The Guardian, The Magreb, Torture, Tripoli

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