Written question asked by Rehman Chishti (Conservative) on Monday, 6 February 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 February 2012. It was answered by Alistair Burt (Conservative) on Monday, 20 February 2012 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Libya: Human Rights

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to monitor the situation in Libya in regard to (a) the reports of secret detention centres and (b) the use of torture against people not linked to the National Transitional Council.

Answer: UK Ministers have regularly raised concerns over the treatment of detainees since the liberation of Libya. Immediately following the reports of mistreatment and torture in Misrata, I raised our serious concerns with the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister. Last week the Prime Minister, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne) and I reiterated these concerns to the Libyan Interior Minister. Our ambassador in Tripoli has also raised the matter with members of the Libyan Transitional Government.The Libyan Deputy Prime Minister announced on 31 January that all allegations of mistreatment will be investigated and that officials from the Ministries of Justice and Interior would visit detention centres and begin the process of bringing all detention facilities under central control. The NTC have stated that they will fully co-operate with the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry and have offered it full access.The UK has already provided training to Libyan judges and legal professionals and will be providing further support, including on prison reform. The UK will continue to follow closely the actions taken by the Transitional Government, providing support and assistance where appropriate, to help the Libyans live up to their human rights commitments.

Secondary information