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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Libya
Index
The Qadhafi regime has regarded crime as an anomaly in conflict
with its revolutionary goals inasmuch as all Libyans are expected
to contribute to the common good of society and its social,
political, and economic advancement. During an earlier phase of his
rule, Qadhafi deplored a pattern of increasingly unlawful behavior
that included an unacceptable incidence of theft, violence, and
traffic accidents. He had hoped to follow the British model of
police officers enforcing public order with "a notebook, a pencil
or a map to guide people, but not a gun or a stick." Instead, he
lamented, he was obliged to depend on an armed police force because
"the Third World will need another 500 years to understand that a
policeman, even unarmed, must be respected."
Because meaningful data had not been available for many years,
no up-to-date assessment of the extent and nature of criminal
activity could be made in 1987. When last reported, statistics
showed a high incidence of property theft and relatively fewer
violent crimes, such as rape, manslaughter, and murder. A
significant number of convictions were under the category of
"crimes against freedom, honor, and the public," which could range
from public drunkenness to student demonstrations and more serious
political offenses. To judge from reports in the official press in
the mid-1980s, the nation's economic strains were reflected in a
growing number of cases of smuggling, illegally deposit of money
abroad, bribery, and misappropriation of funds by public officials.
Corruption in government has been an abiding concern. In 1975
a tough new law made the acceptance of a bribe by a public official
punishable by up to ten years in prison plus fines set at twice the
amount of the bribe. A person proffering a bribe could receive up
to five years in prison plus fines of up to LD500. According to
press reports, verdicts handed down by people's courts involved
relatively moderate jail sentences of one to two years but harsh
fines of LD50,000 and more. An official found guilty of paying
unearned overtime salaries to relatives and friends, however, was
condemned to a ten-year prison term.
Data as of 1987
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