Libyan court sentences Khalifa Haftar to death in absentia

A military court in Misrata has issued a death sentence in absentia against warlord Khalifa Haftar for ordering the bombing of an Air Defense College in 2019 that left one Libyan soldier killed.

According to the text of Thursday’s ruling, the Military Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against Haftar and requested the Military Police Department to implement the sentence against him and six high-ranking officers, Libya Al-Ahrar TV channel reported.

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Libyan media circulated a document issued by the Military Prosecutor’s Office, which indicates that the case in which this ruling was issued concerns the bombing of the “National Army” forces at the Air Defense College in Misrata.

The ruling stipulates that the defendants are permanently deprived of their civil rights and expelled from military service for violating the Military Penal Code.

The ruling came after the Supreme National Elections Committee in Libya approved the preliminary list of candidates for the current presidential elections to be held in the country in late December.

The list included nomination of Haftar, who announced his candidacy for the presidential elections in Libya, on the 16th of November.

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It is noteworthy that the Israeli media confirmed that Saddam Haftar, Khalifa's son, visited "Israel" and asked for help from it in exchange for a normalisation agreement would he become president of Libya

Up to 73 candidates were listed by the High National Elections Commission on Wednesday as preliminary potential candidates to take on the race for the December 24 vote, including Haftar, while 25 others were disqualified, including Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.