Al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy (or Sadiq Hamed Shwehdi) (c. 1954 – executed 1984) was a Libyan student and aeronautical engineer who was executed following a

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so ...

in the basketball stadium in

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 Ghaz ...

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 the east, Suda ...

. The trial was broadcast live on Libyan state television.Al-Shuwehdy had returned from America three months earlier where he had been studying, and had begun to protest Gaddafi's regime. While working as an engineer at an airport he joined friends that were campaigning against Gaddafi. Libyan police later seized him at his home; he was executed a few months later. Al-Shuwehdy's family never received his body; mourners later arriving at their house would be physically intimidated. After his death, members of his family also experienced difficulty finding employment or securing places at a university.

Trial

The trial and execution was witnessed in the stadium by thousands of youth, particularly high school and University students, who had been specifically bussed in for the occasion. Al-Shuwehdy was alone in the centre of the stadium, with his hands bound behind his back, and wept as he confessed to his crime of joining the "stray dogs", regime terminology for dissidents, before being sentenced to death. He was accused of plotting to assassinate Gaddafi. The court described him as "a terrorist from the Muslim Brotherhood, an agent of America". Two young men ran up to the judges and begged them for mercy, and a gallows was produced in the middle of the basketball court.

Execution

As Al-Shuwehdy kicked and writhed on the gallows,

Huda Ben Amer Huda Ben Amer (in Arabic هدى بن عامر) is a former Libyan politician. A follower of the Libyan ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, she was the Secretary of the General People's Congress of Inspection People's Control However, it impressed Gadd ...

, then a young Gaddafi loyalist, stepped forward, and grabbed his legs, pulling hard on his body until the struggling stopped. Her actions brought her to the attention of Gaddafi, and she was given a government position and rapidly promoted in the ranks. She later twice became the mayor of Benghazi and one of Libya's richest and most powerful women. Her intervention during Al-Shuwehdy's execution earned her the nickname "Huda the executioner". Amer was captured in Tripoli by

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

forces during the Libyan civil war in September 2011. The previous month Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli had been raided in an attempted coup planned by the

National Front for the Salvation of Libya The National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL) was a political opposition group active during the rule of the Gaddafi regime in Libya. It was formed in 1981 and called for major liberalising reforms such as democratic elections, a free pre ...

. Al-Shuwehdy's cousin Magdi was killed in the raid. In the aftermath, 2,000 people were arrested and twelve were publicly hanged in their home towns. Other hangings were later broadcast, and re-broadcast, on Libyan state television.

Live broadcast

The execution was broadcast live on state television. The film of his trial and execution was rediscovered in 2011 during the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

by Peter Bouckaert, a researcher 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 ...

. Bouckaert was assisted by British photographer Tim Hetherington, it was the last project that Hetheringon was working on at the time of his death. The trial was viewed live on television by many Libyans but had not been seen in full since 1984. The footage of the trial was given to Brouckaert by Shwehdi's brother Ibrahim, who gave four Beta video tapes to be digitized and preserved.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuwehdy, Al-Sadek Hamed 1984 deaths Libyan aerospace engineers Executed Libyan people Filmed executions 20th-century executions by Libya People executed by Libya by hanging Deaths by person in Africa 1984 in Libya