Hanane Al-Barassi (1963 – 10 November 2020) was a Libyan activist for human rights and women's rights.

Biography

Al-Barassi was born in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

in 1963. She was born into an influential tribe in the east of the country. She was very active on social media, bypassing strict controls and broadcasting livestreams to defend women's rights and denounce corruption, particularly by

Khalifa Haftar Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA) ...

and his armed militants. According to Hanan Salah, a reporter for

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, Al-Barassi also fought against financial fraud and alleged cases of rape and sexual assault in the city of

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

. Her actions were heavily publicized, attracting many enemies to herself. Hanane Al-Barassi was assassinated in Benghazi on 10 November 2020 by a group of men supporting Haftar, although they have not been identified. Shortly before her death, she had been livestreaming on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, where she had been criticizing Khalifa Haftar.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

reported that she had already been receiving death threats, and an assassination attempt on her daughter in Benghazi had failed the previous year. The Syndicat des avocats libyens stated that security forces instructed assassins to "silence" her. Al-Barassi's death highlighted the danger of denigrating political leaders in Libya, reported Amnesty International. Her death came one year after the disappearance of parliamentarian

Seham Sergiwa Seham Sergiwa ( ar, سهام سرقيوة ''Sahām Sarqīwa''; also Romanized ''Siham'', ''Sirqiwa'', ''Sergewa'', ''Sirghua''; born 1963) is a Libyan psychologist elected to the Libyan parliament in 2014. She was abducted by a Libyan National ...

, who was kidnapped by armed men supporting Haftar in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

and never reappeared. On her tombstone, the inscription "Martyrdom of Truth" appeared in honor of Al-Barassi.

References

1963 births 2020 deaths Libyan human rights activists Assassinations in Libya Assassinated Libyan people {{Libya-politician-stub