A shocking video has reignited the case of the kidnapped MP, Ibrahim al-Dersi, who disappeared on 16 May 2024 after an event commemorating the tenth anniversary of Haftar’s Operation Dignity in Benghazi (Libya Politics & Security – 20.05.24). Al-Dersi is a prominent House of Representatives member from the Dersa tribe in eastern Libya which has supported the Khalifa Haftar’s Libya Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) since its  establishment. Reports indicated that an armed group abducted him to an unknown location. The eastern authorities did not make any official announcement of who was responsible. Just a week before his abduction, he made a public statement criticising the region’s authorities and the situation in eastern Libya which made observers suspect that he was actually abducted by forces loyal to the LAAF. 

Despite ongoing searches by the eastern authorities his whereabouts remain unknown. On 5 May disturbing video clips and images, whose authenticity is contested, circulated which appeared to show al-Dersi stripped, chained by the neck, and seemingly pleading with Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam Haftar for release. 

The internationally recognised Government of Nation Unity (GNU) swiftly condemned the ‘humiliating and shocking’ footage and demanded an urgent international investigation. The Presidential Council also called for a transparent joint international-national inquiry into the MP’s ‘forcible disappearance since a year ago’. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed its ‘severe discomfort’ at the video, requesting UN digital forensics analysis, and urged the Libyan authorities to expedite an independent investigation into al-Dersi’s disappearance and alleged torture. A joint EU and member state embassy communiqué condemned the ‘inhuman detention’ as a human rights violation and demanded: an immediate investigation; his safe return; and justice for those responsible. 

By contrast the eastern authorities — and specifically its Internal Security Agency headed by Lt-Gen  Osama al-Dersi — asserted that its technical team had definitively concluded that the video and images are ‘entirely fabricated by artificial intelligence.’ It pointed to a recent UNSMIL warning about AI forgeries and called on it to share any intelligence regarding the ‘shameful act’ which suggested prior knowledge. The agency also implicated GNU Prime minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah and his Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs, Walid al-Lafi, for a ‘fabricated leak.’ 

While the LAAF remained silent Osama Hammad — th3e head of the east’s parallel Government of National Stability’s (GNS) — issued clear instructions at an urgent 5 May security meeting to investigate and find al-Dersi and attributed the ‘heinous crime’ to those seeking to destabilise security and sow discord. The GNS Interior Ministry claimed al-Dersi was kidnapped by an ‘unknown criminal entity’ belonging to an organised gang and insisted that investigations began immediately after the reported kidnapping in 2024. The preliminary findings suggested that the video was ‘carefully coordinated’ by the kidnappers to mislead the public and tarnish the reputation of the LAAF and its leaders in order to destabilise secure areas. 

House speaker Aguila Saleh demanded that that the Attorney General and security agencies urgently investigate the video and images. He acknowledged their ‘horrific and shocking’ nature but denied any knowledge of their authenticity. 

Their emergence has thrown the already complex case of Ibrahim al-Dersi’s disappearance into a new and highly contentious phase. The stark contrast between the GNU’s outrage and the eastern authorities conflicting narratives is likely to further polarise public opinion and complicate any efforts towards national reconciliation.