On June 10, Libyans awoke to yet another horrific event — news of the shooting deaths of 12 men whose bodies were then disposed of at different locations around Tripoli. What actually happened and who is to blame remains far from clear. Emerging details suggest the same old pattern of armed militias claiming nominal loyalty to the government acting with impunity. The United Nations urged the Government of National Accord (GNA) on June 13 to investigate the murders, and the GNA has promised to do so and hold the perpetrators accountable. The case, however, has raised suspicions about the government's power and its relationship to militias, which it is supposed to be taming.

Innocent people get killed almost every day in Libya, but this time it is different. All 12 men had been granted conditional release by court order, and their families had been notified to come to the Ain Zara prison, just south of Tripoli, to pick them up. Their murders marked the second single-day mass killing in Libya since nearly 50 civilians were killed on Nov. 15, 2013, by Misrata militias in what became known as the Gharghour massacre, referring to the southwestern Tripoli district where the massacre took place.

Al-Monitor has seen all but one of the court orders for the men's release on the condition that they report to the prosecutor general’s office in Tripoli twice a month pending verdicts against them. This is a common practice in Libya. A local prosecutor explained to Al-Monitor, on condition of anonymity for security reasons, that in such cases, “Most likely the court will return a not guilty verdict, and such individuals will be set free since they were given conditional release.” 

Siddiq al-Sur, from the prosecutor general’s office, was quoted as telling a local TV station on June 11 that what had happened was nothing more than a pure crime, punishable by law. He asserted, “[All the] perpetrators will be held accountable.”