Moussa Abdel Karim, who worked for the Sabha-based newspaper Fasaniah, was abducted by criminal gangs on July 31, 2018, and was later murdered.
This statement was originally published on ifj.org on 3 July 2018.
The IFJ has condemned the killing of Libyan journalist Moussa Abdel Karim in Sabha.
Moussa Abdel Karim, who worked for the Sabha-based newspaper Fasaniah, was abducted by criminal gangs on July 31, 2018, and was later murdered. His body, found near the health centre in Sabha, had 13 bullets embedded in it and showed clear signs of torture.
Sabha has been a centre of conflict among military groups and criminal gangs and journalists reporting on it have been facing growing dangers. Abdel Karim and his colleagues at Fasaniah have been frequently threatened for reporting in this troubled city.
Libyan journalists have demanded that the authorities arrest the perpetrators and take strong action against the gangs.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “Once again journalists doing a public service and reporting on criminal activities and violent gangs have been targeted. Our thoughts are with Moussa and his family and colleagues. The authorities must act quickly and effectively to bring his killers to justice.
“This blatant killing is one of the many recent such cases in Libya. Such frequent reoccurrence of murders raises the IFJ’s extreme concern over the safety of journalists in this region”.
