The Attorney General's (AG) Office has ordered the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the Abu Salim mass murder, which claimed the lives of 10 people, without specifying the identity of the murderers.
The AG Office said Saturday that the prosecution’s orders came after the investigators and autopsy reports had confirmed that the cause of death was due to the victims being subjected to gunshots.
The AG Office said that the investigating authority had obtained evidence that contributed to understanding the circumstances surrounding the incident and identifying the perpetrators, so the Public Prosecutor assigned the Tripoli Security Directorate to supervise the implementation of the arrest.
Last Sunday, the Tripoli Security Directorate announced that the Public Prosecution had launched its investigations into the Abu Salim murder, explaining that the incident claimed the lives of ten people. The Director of Tripoli Security, Khalil Wahiba, said in a press briefing that “a report was received at the Abu Salim Police Station regarding the killing of ten people, some of whom belong to the Stabilization Support Service, inside a house near the Abu Shaala Mosque at the hands of an unidentified armed group.”
Wahiba added that the Public Prosecution was informed of the incident, which in turn began the investigation along with the Criminal Investigation Office. They moved to the crime scene in order to take record of fingerprints, search the house, and conduct a physical examination of the bodies.
The bodies had suffered several bullets while the prosecution ordered that they be presented to forensics to determine the time of the murder, the mechanism of its occurrence, the weapons used, and the ammunition to be seized and presented to the weapons expert, according to Wahiba.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya called for an independent, rapid and comprehensive investigation into the incident, and urged “work to prevent any actions that may lead to escalation and further violence.”
