A criminal court in Tripoli has sentenced seven individuals to prison for their involvement in an armed group whose members engaged in activities threatening the security of the state and national economy, including coercing oil field workers to shut down production sites for a period of time, according to a statement released Sunday by the office of Attorney General Al-Siddiq Al-Sour.
While the statement did not specify the name of the armed group or the identities of the defendants, it noted that six of the accused were sentenced to 18 years in prison, while the seventh received a 15-year sentence. All were permanently stripped of their civil rights.
The Attorney General’s investigation concluded that the defendants had attempted to “alter the form of government and the country’s constitutional order, obstruct public authorities from performing their duties, sabotage government buildings, carry out indiscriminate killings of state employees, and force oil workers to halt production for a period of time.”
The forced shutdowns, according to the Attorney General, resulted in financial losses amounting to $52,228,413,000.
Reports have been conflicting over whether Ibrahim Jadhran and members of his family—previously involved in the closure of oil fields and ports during his time as head of the Petroleum Facilities Guard from 2013 to 2016—were among the convicted.
These shutdowns began in July 2013, severely disrupting oil exports and causing massive economic losses. In March 2014, Jadhran attempted to export oil independently by loading a shipment from Sidra port, but the U.S. Navy intervened and seized the tanker off the coast of Cyprus.
