Amnesty International has called on Libya to cancel the prison sentences of 11 Christians convicted on charges including “insulting Islam.”
The rights organisation said the trials of 10 Libyans and one Pakistani man were deeply flawed, lacking fairness and proper legal process. According to Amnesty, judges never examined witnesses or evidence, and the cases were built only on investigations by the Internal Security Agency (ISA).
In April this year, a court in Tripoli sentenced the group to between three and 15 years in prison. Charges included insulting Islam, misusing the internet to criticise religious rituals, promoting a banned group, and attempting to alter constitutional principles.
The Christians had been arrested in March 2023 by the ISA, which accused them of evangelising Muslims. Two American citizens were also detained at the time but released after a few days without charge. Amnesty reported that the detainees faced torture, denial of legal representation, and were forced to confess on video. These videos were later released by the ISA on its official channels.
Amnesty said the defendants were denied access to lawyers during questioning, and court documents showed that charges of apostasy were later dropped. The indictment itself acknowledged that promoting Christianity is not a crime under Libyan law. Despite this, the Pakistani defendant was still accused of attempting to form a banned Christian group.
The watchdog stressed that under international law, all people have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to change faith and share beliefs. It criticised Libyan authorities for prosecuting Christians without presenting evidence of wrongdoing and for preventing them from attending their own sentencing.
Family members of those imprisoned have described the suffering caused by the arrests. One wife said her husband was tortured in custody and separated from his daughter, who prays daily for his release.
Libya has faced ongoing instability since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country currently ranks fourth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of nations where Christians face the most severe persecution.
