A Libyan court sitting in Tripoli has sentenced 17 members of ISIS to death for participating in the killing of 53 people in the western city of Sabratha and the destruction of public property in 2014, a state prosecutor said.
Apart from the death sentences, 16 other militants were given prison sentences, ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment, the statemen said.
The statement by the Tripoli-based top prosecutor issued on Monday said “these 17 former members were convicted of the death of 53 people and the destruction of public property while attacking the state and social peace.”
The North African nation has been divided between two competing administrations for years, one based in the east and the other in the west, each supported by different foreign powers, according to the United Nations.
The division, it said, resulted from the revolt that brought down longtime dictator, Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, with the chaos leaving a power vacuum that was filled by different groups and a tangible power struggle.
The chaos also helped IS seize various areas and establish administrative pockets across the country but without gaining supremacy due to the presence of armed militia forces scattered everywhere.
