This 58-page report details the final hours of Muammar Gaddafi’s life and the circumstances under which he was killed. It presents evidence that Misrata-based militias captured and disarmed members of the Gaddafi convoy and, after bringing them under their total control, subjected them to brutal beatings. They then executed at least 66 captured members of the convoy at the nearby Mahari Hotel. The evidence indicates that opposition militias took Gaddafi’s wounded son Mutassim from Sirte to Misrata and killed him there.
Under the laws of war, the killing of captured combatants is a war crime, and Libyan civilian and military authorities have an obligation to investigate war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law.
Summary
Recommendations
I. Background
II. The Flight from Tripoli and Final Days in Sirte
Attempted Escape from District Two, Morning of October 20
III. The Capture of Muammar Gaddafi and His Inner Circle
IV. The Capture and Death of Muammar Gaddafi
V. Summary Executions at the Site of Muammar Gaddafi’s Capture
VI. The Capture and Execution of Mutassim Gaddafi
VII. Executions of Detained Convoy Survivors at the Mahari Hotel
VIII. Legal Standards and The Failure of Libya’s Interim Authorities to Investigate
IX. Response of the Transitional Libyan Authorities
Acknowledgements
Appendix A. Human Rights Watch Letter to the Transitional Libyan Authorities, June 20, 2012
Appendix B. Letter from the Transitional Libyan Authorities, July 9, 2012
