LIBYA: Woman Publicly Flogged for Adultery in Libya
A woman was publicly flogged on a street in Sabha, southern Libya, after being convicted of “zina,” a legal and religious term in Libyan law that refers to sexual relations between a man and a woman not bound by a recognized marriage.
The punishment, attributed to the local Judicial Police branch, was filmed and subsequently shared on social media, sparking harsh reactions from human rights organizations.
In the viral video, a man reads to those present a document purported to be a ruling from the Sebha Criminal Court, which supposedly orders the execution of the sentence in public.
Immediately afterward, a uniformed Judicial Police officer repeatedly strikes the woman, who is sitting on the ground with her face and body covered.
Security forces vehicles are visible in the background.
The incident was denounced by the National Institution for Human Rights in Libya (NIHRL), an independent Libyan civil society organization.
In a statement issued on Friday, July 24, 2026, NIHRL recalled “the practices of extremist and terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State, Ansar al-Sharia, and Al-Qaeda.”
The organization called the public flogging “a dangerous precedent,” denouncing a violation of the procedures established by the very law invoked to justify the punishment.
NIHRL also claims that the woman was punished “alone and without her partner” and accuses the Sabha Criminal Court of ordering street floggings exclusively against women.
To date, neither the Court nor the Judicial Police have provided public clarification on the incident.
Flogging for zina is expressly provided for under Libyan law. Both the corporal punishment and, in this specific case, the public manner of its execution are being contested.
Law No. 70 of 1973, approved on October 2, 1973, by the Revolutionary Command Council during Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, provides for one hundred lashes for the offender and allows the court to add a prison sentence.
The provision applies to adults of sound mind who acted knowingly.