By Haddy Touray
Human Rights Association (HRA) Sunday called on Libyan authorities to release Gambian nationals allegedly being held in arbitrary detention facilities across Libya and to end what it described as systematic abuse against migrants.
The appeal follows a joint report published in February 2026 by the United Nations Human Rights Office and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya documenting widespread abuses against migrants in Libya between January 2024 and December 2025.
According to the report, migrants, including Gambian nationals, were subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, forced labour, sexual violence and extortion in official, unofficial and militia-controlled detention facilities.
The report was based on interviews with nearly 100 migrants from 16 countries in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
The HRA said testimonies gathered by the United Nations included accounts from Gambian nationals who alleged they were beaten, robbed and detained without due process.
One Gambian migrant identified as Lamin reportedly said guards in a detention facility beat detainees with sticks, stole their belongings and broke his teeth. Another migrant, Ebrima, alleged he was arrested at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard and deported to The Gambia without understanding documents he had been asked to sign.
The organisation said another Gambian national, Bakary, was intercepted at sea and detained under conditions described by rights groups as amounting to torture and inhuman treatment.
HRA noted that at least 3,300 Gambian nationals have been repatriated from Libya through assisted return programmes since 2015.
It also referred to reports that Libyan authorities conducted raids in Sebha, southern Libya, on 3 February 2026, detaining more than 2,000 migrants after demolishing homes in the area.
The organisation further cited reports of two mass graves discovered in southeastern Libya in February 2026 containing dozens of migrant bodies, some reportedly showing gunshot wounds.
HRA Chairman Saad Kassis-Mohamed said the reported treatment of Gambian migrants constituted violations of international human rights law.
“The Libyan authorities have a legal obligation under international human rights law to release every individual held in arbitrary detention, to end these practices, and to hold those responsible to account,” he said in a statement.
The HRA called on Libyan authorities to release all migrants held in arbitrary detention, end mass raids and collective detentions without due process, dismantle criminal networks exploiting migrants, and cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms investigating the abuses.
The organization said it also wanted migrant returns to countries of origin to be conducted voluntarily and with informed consent.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Association operates across Africa, South Asia and the Gulf region advocating for individuals facing unjust detention and due process violations.
