BBC journalists tell of being arrested and tortured in Libya

The BBC has vowed to continue reporting on events in Libya despite claims that three of its BBC Arabic staff were detained, tortured and subject to mock execution while working in the country.

In a statement released today, the BBC alleged that three members of staff were stopped at a checkpoint at Al-Zahra, where their BBC IDs were inspected.

In an interview with BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, the trio detail the events which unfolded from the moment of their arrest until their eventual release.

They claim they were first taken to a barracks and interrogated by an officer who wanted to know if they had permission to be reporting.

One member of the team, reporter Feras Killani, says he was taken outside the room where they were being questioned and beaten. Another of the three, producer Chris Cobb-Smith managed to make a phone call for help to colleagues.

"They were kicking and punching me, four or five men," Killani said. "I went down on to my knees. They attacked me as soon as I got out of the car. They knocked me down to the ground with their guns, AK47s. I was down on my knees and I heard them cocking their guns. I thought they were going to shoot me. It was a fake execution. Then they took me into the room.

"It seemed to be something like a guard room. Plain concrete with a heavy door, looked like a cell though they wondered if the guards slept there.

"They took me inside and left me alone for a few minutes and then they started. It was three by four, with an iron door, like a cell. After 15 minutes they were hitting me and kicking me very hard, the worst since I arrived, they put cuffs on my legs. They put three layers over my face, something like a surgical hat, the thing a nurse would wear but over my face. I was on the floor on my side, hands and feet cuffed, lying half on a mattress, and they were beating me."

Cobb-Smith, who is a British journalist, said the group were moved between several locations, at times with other detainees.

Finally the crew were taken to a building in Tripoli, which they believed to be the headquarters of the foreign intelligence service.

According to the BBC, outside the building they were lined up facing the wall, told to bend their heads and not look up.

"As you walk up the steps there was a big entrance and I was last in line," Cobb-Smith said. "There were four of us including the driver. We were lined up against the wall facing it. I stepped aside to face a gap so they wouldn’t be able to smash my face into the wall. A man with a small sub machine gun was putting it to the nape of everyone’s neck in turn. He pointed the barrel at each of us. When he got to me at the end of the line, he pulled the trigger twice. The shots went past my ear."

"They all laughed as though it was very funny."

The BBC staff were eventually released and it is reported that they have since left Libya.

In a statement Liliane Landor, controller languages for BBC Global News, said the BBC is calling on the Libyan government to ensure all media are able to report freely and are protected from persecution.
 
"The safety of our staff is our primary concern especially when they are working in such difficult circumstances and it is essential that journalists working for the BBC, or any media organisation, are allowed to report on the situation in Libya without fear of attack.
 
"Despite these attacks, the BBC will continue to cover the evolving story in Libya for our audiences both inside and outside the country."

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