Prominent female activist killed by gunmen in Benghazi

Gunmen shot dead a prominent dissident in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Tuesday.

Hanan al-Barassi, an outspoken critic of abuses in the eastern areas controlled by Haftar Forces, was shot dead in public, rights groups said.

In one of her last videos posted on Facebook hours before her death she criticised the promotion of Haftar’s sons to senior roles in the city.

“Barassi has been publicly vocal about cases of alleged assault and rape of women in Benghazi in which she implicated members of the armed groups in Benghazi, and she also alleged financial fraud,” said Hanan Salah, senior Libya researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Amnesty International said Barassi and her daughter had received death threats. It noted that her social media page had said on Monday she planned to release video exposing corruption within Haftar’s family.