Libya's ex-envoy to France dies in custody:hrw

TRIPOLI, Feb 3, 2012 (AFP) - Libya's ex-ambassador to France, Omar Brebesh, has died in the custody of a militia from possible torture, less than 24 hours after he was detained by the armed group, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.

HRW said a Tripoli-based militia from the town of Zintan detained Brebesh on January 19 and that a preliminary autopsy found the cause of death included “multiple bodily injuries and fractured ribs.”

“Photos of Brebesh's body, seen by Human Rights Watch, show welts, cuts and the apparent remov- al of toenails, indicating that he was tortured prior to death,” the rights watchdog said in a statement.

It said a report by the judicial po- lice in Tripoli also found that Brebesh had died from torture and that an unnamed suspect had confessed to killing him.

Brebesh, 62, served in the Libyan embassy to France from 2004 to 2008, first as cultural attache and then as acting ambassador for the last nine months of his term, the rights group said.

He continued to work with the Libyan foreign ministry under Kadhafi's regime during last year's uprising and as a lawyer in the ministry under the post-gadaffi transitional government.