A Libyan military court has sentenced 16 people to death in connection with the notorious mass graves discovered in Tarhuna, which included the bodies of sisters Hawa, Rima, and Laila Harouda.
Among those sentenced to death were Osama Al-Hamdi, Ismail Sharoud, Wadi’ Al-Safi, and Sabri Aqqab, according to a report by RT. Additionally, six other defendants, including Basma Al-Wershafani and Zainab Al-Wakeel, were handed life sentences.
The case drew significant attention after the bodies of the Harouda sisters, along with dozens of others, were found in a mortuary refrigerator in Tarhuna following the city’s liberation from forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar in 2020.
The three sisters, Rima (38), who was pregnant, Hawa (45), and Laila (46), were reportedly kidnapped from the family’s home in Tarhuna in April 2020. One of the sisters was shot in the head while trying to escape, and the remaining siblings were subjected to torture by the Kaniyat militia, a group linked to Haftar.
The court’s ruling comes after extensive investigations and testimony, shedding light on one of Libya’s brutal incidents, which has left a deep impact on the nation’s collective conscience.
