It is sixteen years since more than 1,250 inmates were gunned down at Abu Salim gaol
in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, but this is the first time the Libyan people
have been able to mark the anniversary.
The prisoners were killed on June 28 and 29, 1996 for protesting to
demand better conditions. Colonel
Gaddafi’s brother-in-law, Abdullah al-Senussi, who is now under
arrest, is accused of ordering the massacre.
While the Gaddafi regime was in power, victims’ families did not dare
mark the anniversary, but now the prison has been turned into a museum where
visitors can seen pictures of those killed, secret notes written by inmates and
other objects from the notorious history of Abu Salim, where some were held for
many years.
Although many old scores are being settled by the gun in
post-revolutionary Libya, the judiciary has started prosecuting members of the
former government. Mr Senussi, is
wanted by the International Criminal Court, but is currently being held by the
Mauritanian authorities who have charged him with entering the country
illegally.
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