Libyan detainees loyal to Gaddafi dying after being tortured by militias: Amnesty

Tripoli, Jan 27(ANI): Several Libyan detainees, mostly accused of being loyal to former ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, have died after being tortured by militia groups, human rights group Amnesty International has said.

The organization also claimed to have seen wounded patients languishing in Tripoli, Misrata and Gheryan.

According to UN human rights chief Navi Pillay, over 8,500 detainees are being detained by militia groups in about 60 centres.

"The torture is being carried out by officially recognised military and security entities as well as by a multitude of armed militias operating outside any legal framework," the BBC quoted an Amnesty spokesperson, as saying.

The statement comes in the wake of a charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres, suspending its operations in Misrata, after treating 115 patients with torture-related wounds.

The charity claimed that it was being "exploited" because some patients were being brought to them between interrogation sessions and added that "its role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions."

Libya has vowed to end abuses rampant in the new regime, but results are far from satisfactory as evident from the Amnesty International's observations.

Fighting between armed groups is still continuing in parts of Libya even after three months of the ouster of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Colonel Gaddafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte in October 2011 after ruling Libya for 42 years. (ANI)