Libya

Libya is a North African country with an estimated 7.5million inhabitants.¹ Most of the country is situated in the Sahara desert with the majority of its population concentrated along the coast.² It is estimated that 90-95% of the population are Sunni Muslims. Many members of the Amazigh ethnic minority are Ibadi Muslims, which represent between 4.5-6% of the population.³

Historically part of the Ottoman Empire, Libya was colonized by Italy between 1912- 1942. After the second world war and following years of international discussions, Libya became a united independent nation in 1951 under the rule of King Idris with a separate parliament established for each province. The discovery of oil in 1959 transformed the country’s economy.⁴

In 1969 a coup led by Col. Muammar Gaddafi deposed the King and the country was declared a republic. Gaddafi’s regime controlled Libya for 42 years until violent protests in 2011 led to civil war. The intervention of a foreign coalition led by the U.S., France and the U.K. enabled rebel forces to capture and kill Gaddafi.⁵

A Transitional National Council followed by a General National Congress failed to bring stability to the country and by 2014 Libya effectively had two opposing governments in place in the west and east of the country. The armed conflict continued for almost a decade, with many different militias supporting different factions. In 2020, the warring sides agreed to a ceasefire, although clashes have continued since then. At the time of writing, the Government of National Unity (GNU) controls the west of Libya and the House of Representatives (HoR) and Government of National Stability (GNS) controls the east. Proposed elections have repeatedly been stalled and the country currently finds itself in a political stalemate with ongoing violence and insecurity.⁶

Constitution and government

Interim Constitution

The Constitutional declaration of 2011⁷ serves as Libya’s interim Constitution. Article 1 of the interim Constitution declares that Islam is the state religion and that Islamic law is the principal source of legislation. The interim Constitution also decrees that the State “guarantees non-Muslims the freedom to perform their religious rites.” This wording offers a limited form of protection for freedom of religion or belief.

Notably, the 1951 Constitution provided greater protections for the right to freedom of religion or belief as it referred to all citizens – rather than limiting the wording to ‘non-Muslims’. Article 21 of the 1951 Constitution of Libya reads:

“Freedom of belief shall be absolute. The State shall respect all religions and faiths and shall ensure to Libyans and to foreigners residing in its territory freedom of belief and the liberty to practice religious rites so long as this does not prejudice public order and morality.”⁸

Article 6 of the interim Constitution states that there shall be no discrimination among Libyans on the basis of religion or sect. However, other laws and policies restrict these rights. Under Article 207 of the Penal Code⁹ it is illegal to distribute information aimed at “changing the fundamental principles of the Constitution or the fundamental rules of the social structure” and numerous converts from Islam have been arrested and detained under the provision.¹⁰ In 2023, at least six Libyan men and women, some from indigenous ethnic minority groups, were arrested separately by security forces in the west of the country for converting to Christianity and proselytizing. They initially faced charges that could result in the death penalty, yet in January 2024, the apostasy charge was dropped and prison sentences of up to 15 years were imposed in April 2025.¹¹

Discrimination against religious minorities

Hard-line Salafi Muslims in eastern Libya control mosques and religious programming in Benghazi and their militants have destroyed or vandalized Sufi Muslim shrines with impunity.¹² Many Sufi leaders and followers have been imprisoned and prevented from giving sermons at mosques. In 2023, the GNU General Authority for Endowments and Islamic Affairs (GAEIA) called on imams to warn against the Sufi tradition of celebrating the Prophet’s birthday, describing certain Sufi practices, such as dancing and beating drums, as “transgressions against Islam.”¹³

Religious leaders are known to make statements denigrating other religions and beliefs. In a sermon in 2023, the GNU-recognized Grand Mufti Sheikh Sadiq al-Gharyani warned Muslims against leaving Islam, describing Christianity as “nothing but a religion of atheism, a religion of trinity, a religion of immorality, a religion of corruption.” He claimed that “the crime of atheism is a crime in the law and in the Quran. It is a crime because it aids the enemies of Islam.”¹⁴

Members of the Tabu and Tuareg communities face significant barriers in accessing their civil rights as well as education and health care services due to discriminatory laws that prevent them possessing national identity cards.¹⁵

Discrimination towards the non-religious

Atheists, agnostics, and other non-religious people in Libya report facing discrimination or threats of violence and hostility from their families and communities because of their beliefs.¹⁶

In 2022, the Tripoli-based and GNU-aligned Internal Security Agency (ISA) posted video “confessions” of a group of people they had arrested on charges of atheism and insulting Islam. During what appear to be forced confessions without the presence of lawyers, those detained “confessed” to communicating with atheists, agnostics, Quranists, feminists, and secularists. In the statement posted on its Facebook account the ISA said that those arrested were opposed to Libyan and Islamic values and that they were “conspiring to spread atheism, incite youth to travel outside Libya, and promote “unorthodox” sexual practices in the name of freedom.”¹⁷

Education and children’s rights

Religious instruction in Islam is required in public schools and in private schools that admit citizens, but there is no in-depth instruction on other religions available in the curricula. Attendance at religious instruction is mandatory for all students.¹⁸

Child marriage

Cultural and religious traditions influence the continued practise of child marriage in Libya. Despite the legal age of marriage being set at 18, it is possible for judicial authorities to bypass the law and grant marriage authorizations to minors, usually following pressure by the girl’s family. According to the World Organisation Against Torture, a Marriage Facilitation Fund, set up by the GNU, has actually contributed to a rise in child marriages by incentivising poor families to view early marriage as a way of accessing the funds and reducing their financial responsibilities.¹⁹ In 2025, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls recommended that Libya effectively implement the prohibition of child marriage, as well as address the de facto tolerance of religious marriages.²⁰

Family, community and society

Women’s rights

Sharia law governs family matters for Muslims, including inheritance, divorce, and the right to own property. Under this body of law, a non-Muslim woman who marries a Muslim man is not required to convert to Islam, although many do so; however, a non-Muslim man must convert to Islam to marry a Muslim woman. Marriages between Muslim men and women of non-Abrahamic faiths are illegal.The GAEIA administers non-Muslim family law issues, although without a parallel legal framework. It draws upon neighboring countries’ family law precedents for non-Muslims in accordance with the practices of the religious community to which the individual belongs.²¹

Libyan women with foreign husbands do not enjoy full citizenship rights and can only transfer Libyan citizenship to their children under very limited circumstances.²² These nationality laws result in children being denied a legal identity and equal access to their civil, political and economic rights.²³

Women are inadequately protected under the law. Sexual harassment is prevalent, male relatives are reported to have killed several women in “honor killings” and unveiled women may be stopped and threatened at checkpoints. The law also fails to protect women from rape and other acts of sexual violence, which have become an increasingly serious problem in the current context of violence and impunity. The Penal Code allows for a reduced sentence for a man who kills or injures his wife or a female relative because he suspects her of having an affair, and rapists can avoid prosecution if they marry their victim.²⁴ Abortion is illegal in all circumstances except in cases where the life of the woman is in danger.²⁵

In 2023, the GAEIA created the “Guardians of Virtue” with the stated aim of protecting Islamic values. They have been described by some as a secret police organization that targets those considered to be violating Islamic societal codes.²⁶ In addition, the Internal Security Agency (ISA) imposes restrictions on women’s dress and punishes behavior considered “un-islamic”. In 2023, they put in place a procedure at Tripoli’s main airport requiring women traveling alone to complete a document declaring their reason for travel and explaining why they were traveling without a male guardian. Although the questionnaire was later withdrawn, women traveling alone could still be subjected to questioning.²⁷ In 2024, the GNU built on their previous initiative by announcing the establishment of a “morality police force” to impose measures including the wearing of the hijab by women and school girls, banning social interactions between non-related women and men, and restricting women from travelling without a male guardian.²⁸  Armed groups who continue to control areas throughout the country are also reported to restrict religious practices targeting those who they consider in breach of their interpretation of sharia law.²⁹

LGBTI+ rights

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Libya under Articles 407 and 408 of the Penal Code and is punishable with up to five years imprisonment. LGBTI+ people suffer from discrimination and violence, including beatings and rape, which – according to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls – perpetrators attempt to justify, in part, using religious dogma.. The Special Rapporteur has also reported that when she met with GNU officials they stated that there were no LGBTI+ people in Libya.³⁰

Amnesty International has reported cases of individuals being arrested and prosecuted on charges of “homosexuality” by the ISA and other militias or armed groups.³¹

Persecution of alleged witches

In 2024, the House of Representatives (HoR) enacted a law on the Criminalization of Sorcery, Witchcraft, Fortune-Telling, and Related Acts.³² The law provides penalties ranging from fines, to imprisonment and even execution for actions that are mainly alleged to take place in a metaphysical world. The broad and vague concepts in the law allow for discrimination and persecution, especially against women and certain ethnic and religious minorities. According to the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace, accusations of witchcraft have been increasing in recent years, with the rise of Salafism within security authorities.³³ Rights groups have called on the HoR to repeal the law.³⁴

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

There was a blossoming of free media, and open public debate after the overthrow of Gaddafi. In 2012, Libya’s Supreme Court struck down a law that restricted any speech deemed insulting to the country’s people and institutions.³⁵

However, after the early days of the revolution restrictions on freedom of expression became restricted once more . Ongoing sectarian and political turbulence has resulted in rising violence, kidnappings, and the murder of journalists and other public figures.³⁶ Reporters Without Borders describes the country as a “true information black hole” with any journalists remaining in the country obliged to work under the protection of one of the warring factions making independent and balanced reporting impossible.³⁷ Following the 2023 dam disaster in Derna, East Libya, the authorities blocked independent reporting and harassed international and local journalists. Press activities were monitored by intelligence services and journalists were detained and questioned.³⁸

In 2022, the HoR based in East Libya brought in an anti-cybercrime law which requires that all use of the internet and new technologies respect “public order and morality”. These vague provisions allow the authorities to censor and block online content and impose criminal punishments of up to 15 years imprisonment for publishers of digital content that “violates public order or public morals”. The law allows the government to engage in mass surveillance of electronic communications.³⁹ In 2023, two women, a singer and a blogger, were arrested on suspicion of “violating honor and public morals” under the anti-cybercrime law. The interior ministry based in Benghazi said that they had insulted “the status of the chaste and dignified Libyan woman in our conservative society with acts and behaviours that are foreign to us and offend our customs, traditions and true religion.”⁴⁰ They were released in April 2023 without charge after the case was widely highlighted by human rights groups and reported in the media.⁴¹

It is reported that personal expression is significantly more restricted in the east of the country than in the west – where criticism of the authorities is more common. However, individuals have faced violent reprisals for critical speech in both parts of the country.⁴² Reports suggest that anyone associated with promoting women’s rights, including women human rights defenders, are villainized and targeted with hate speech.⁴³

Freedom of Assembly

Freedom of assembly increased after Gaddafi’s rule and a law on freedom of assembly that came into force in 2012 is generally compatible with international standards of human rights. However, a continuing crackdown on civil society along with on-going street violence, and threats from organized militias, has deterred peaceful assemblies and public expression of dissenting views. Authorities in both the east and west have responded to anti-government protests with arrests and intimidation. In particular, a crackdown on dissent following the Derna dam disaster in 2023 led to several arrests and is reported to have had a chilling effect on freedom of assembly.⁴⁴

Civil society organizations must get approval from the Civil Society Commission to receive funding, conduct activities, or communicate with foreign parties. According to Human Rights Watch, the Commission, which is responsible for licensing civil society groups, has significant control over the internal functioning of groups and without a court order is able to search groups’ headquarters, freeze bank accounts, suspend activities, or dissolve groups. In 2024, the Commission tabled an NGO bill that would enshrine these powers into law. In response to this an alternative bill has been drafted by Libyan civil society and the UN has recommended that this be adopted to protect civic freedoms.⁴⁵

Blasphemy

Libya’s 1953 Penal Code outlaws blasphemy and prescribes a two-year prison term.
Article 291 (Insulting the State Religion) states that “anyone who publicly attacks the Islamic religion, which is the official religion of the State according to the Constitution of Libya, through expressions that are inappropriate for God, prophets, or messengers, shall be punished by a penalty of detention for a period not exceeding two years.”⁴⁶

In November 2012, the offices of the Libyan National Party were raided and two politicians, Ali Tekbali and Fathi Sager, were charged with blasphemy (amongst other offences) for an election cartoon that was deemed to be insulting to Islam. The cartoon in question showed a group of men discussing the role of women in society. The prosecution claimed that one character in the drawings resembled the Prophet Muhammad depicted in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. They were acquitted in March 2014, after a 15-month investigation.⁴⁷

Other than this incident, the blasphemy law does not appear to have been used in other cases in recent years.

Testimonies

“I am a Libyan atheist woman in a deeply Islamic country and suffering is just a tiny word for all that what I have been through. Years ago I was an admin of a Facebook Page for Libyan female atheists and you can not imagine how many threat messages and insults I got every day in my inbox. A woman in Libya is suffering, especially if she is different! I am wearing the Hijab against my will since I was young. My phone has been taken away many times and I have been beaten. I am living as a ghost and hiding my ideas. I have accepted to be a slave rather than to lose my head.

I can not imagine what my parents would say about my atheism. Even if could avoid the criticism of my mother, I couldn’t avoid it from the others. They would call me a prostitute. People would say you are an unbeliever and you don’t deserve to live and Sharia law should be applied on you. As soon as you have a different point of view they think you do not deserve to live. Even the one that loves you the most becomes an enemy and would not hesitate to behead you.”

— Aisha

1. “Libya Population”, Worldometer, accessed 29 September 2025 https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/libya-population/ [↩]
2. “Libya” Britannica, accessed 29 September 2025 https://www.britannica.com/place/Libya [↩]
3. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
4. “Libya” Britannica, accessed 29 September 2025 https://www.britannica.com/place/Libya;
   “Libya Country Profile”, BBC, accessed 29 September 2025 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13754897 [↩]
5. “Libya” Britannica, accessed 29 September 2025 https://www.britannica.com/place/Libya;
   “Libya Country Profile”, BBC, accessed 29 September 2025 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13754897 [↩]
6. Louisa Brooke-Holland, Libya: Political developments since 2011 (House of Commons Library, 2024) https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-10103/CBP-10103.pdf [↩]
7. 2011 Constitutional Declaration, The Law Society of Libya https://www.refworld.org/legal/legislation/natlegbod/2011/en/121497 [↩]
8. International Commission of Jurists, The Draft Libyan Constitution: Procedural Deficiencies, Substantive Flaws, (ICJ, 2015) accessed 30 September 2025 https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/icjurists/2015/en/112489 [↩]
9. Ministry of Justice, Penal Code, 1953, https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=97659 [↩]
10. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
11. Zeinab Mohammed Salih, “Six Libyans face death penalty for converting to Christianity” The Guardian, 3 May 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/may/03/six-libyans-face-death-penalty-for-converting-to-christianity; “Libya: Harsh Sentences Punishing Freedom of Thought Following Grossly Unfair Trial”, Amnesty International, 12 August 2025, https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/MDE1901262025ENGLISH.pdf [↩]
12. “Libya” chapter in Freedom in the World 2024 (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/libya/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
13. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
14. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
15. “Libya” chapter in Amnesty International Report 2024-25 (Amnesty International, 2025) https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/north-africa/libya/report-libya/;
    Summary of stakeholders’ submissions on Libya, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/3, Human Rights Council
    Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/3 [↩]
16. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
17. “Libya: The Internal Security Agency intensifies crackdown on freedom of expression”, Amnesty International, 23 March 2022 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/libya-the-internal-security-agency-intensifies-crackdown-on-freedom-of-expression/ [↩]
18. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
19. “Libya: The Hidden Crisis of Child Marriage”, OMCT, 6 December 2024 https://www.omct.org/en/resources/statements/libya-the-hidden-crisis-of-child-marriage [↩]
20. Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2, Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
    Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2 [↩]
21. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
22. “Libya” chapter in Freedom in the World 2024 (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/libya/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
23. Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2, Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
    Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2 [↩]
24. Libya: Gender Justice & the Law, UNDP, December 2019 https://files.acquia.undp.org/public/migration/arabstates/Libya.Summary.19.Eng.pdf [↩]
25. “Right to abortion: In which countries is it banned, restricted or threatened?”, Le Monde, 24 June 2022 https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/06/24/right-to-abortion-in-which-countries-is-it-banned-restricted-or-threatened_5987907_4.html [↩]
26. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
27. “Libya: The “Morality” Police Must Not Be Re-Established”, International Commission of Jurists, 13 November 2024 https://www.icj.org/libya-the-morality-police-must-not-be-reestablished/ [↩]
28. “Libya” chapter in World Report 2025 (Human Rights Watch, 2025) https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/libya[↩]
29. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
30. Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2, Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
    Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2 [↩]
31. Summary of stakeholders’ submissions on Libya, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/3, Human Rights Council
    Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/3 [↩]
32. House of Representatives, Law on the Criminalization of Witchcraft, Sorcery, Divination, and Related Practices, Law No. 6, 15 May 2024 https://lawsociety.ly/en/legislation/law-no-6-of-2024-on-the-criminalization-of-witchcraft-sorcery-divination-and-related-practices/ (accessed 6 October 2025) [↩]
33. Austin Cooper, “Libyan animal rights defenders freed after detention over ‘witchcraft’ accusations”, The New Arab, 4 April 2023 https://www.newarab.com/news/libyan-sisters-freed-after-witchcraft-hate-campaign [↩]
34. Summary of stakeholders’ submissions on Libya, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/3, Human Rights Council
    Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/3 [↩]
35. “Libyan Supreme Court strikes down law aimed at curbing free speech”, Reporters Without Borders, 14 June 2012 https://rsf.org/en/libyan-supreme-court-strikes-down-law-aimed-curbing-free-speech [↩]
36. “Libya” chapter in Freedom in the World 2024 (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/libya/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
37. “Libya”, Reporters Without Borders, accessed 2 October 2025 https://rsf.org/en/country/libya [↩]
38. “Libya” chapter in Freedom in the World 2024 (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/libya/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
39. “Libya” chapter in 2023 International Religious Freedom Report (US State Department, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/libya/ [↩]
40. “Eastern Libya urged to free two women, held on morality charges”, The Arab Weekly, 4 April 2023 https://thearabweekly.com/eastern-libya-urged-free-two-women-held-morality-charges [↩]
41. “The State of the World’s Human Rights”, Amnesty International, 2024, https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WEBPOL1072002024ENGLISH.pdf[↩]
42. “Libya” chapter in Freedom in the World 2024 (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/libya/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
43. Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2, Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
    Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2 [↩]
44. “Libya” chapter in Freedom in the World 2024 (Freedom House, 2024) https://freedomhouse.org/country/libya/freedom-world/2024 [↩]
45. “Libya” chapter in World Report 2025 (Human Rights Watch, 2025) https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/libya;
    Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2, Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
    Fiftieth session, 3–14 November 2025 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/50/LBY/2 [↩]
46. Ministry of Justice, Penal Code, 1953, https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=97659 [↩]
47. “LFJL applauds court ruling on blasphemy case and urges the state to repeal oppressive legislation”, Lawyers for Justice in Libya, 5 March 2014 https://www.libyanjustice.org/news/127-lfjl-applauds-court-ruling-on-blasphemy-case-and-urges-the-state-to-repeal-oppressive-legislation [↩]