1,200 Bodies Found in Libyan Mass Grave

1,270 bodies were found in a mass grave in Tripoli. The bodies are thought to be the victims of a 1996 massacre at the Abu Salim prison, and were found by revolutionaries on August 20th. The bodies are scattered around a 100 meter radius. Former prisoner Abdul Wahab Gady was at Abu Salim during the massacre and provided details to researchers and investigators.

Gady says the massacre came about by prisoners who were rebelling against poor conditions and restricted family visits. The prisoners had seized a guard and escaped their cells. In a pretense of working with the prisoners, the guards feigned negotiations. After the prisoners agreed to return to their cells, the prison ordered for a firing squad and all of the rioting prisoners were handcuffed, blindfolded, and shot.

In 2007, the families of the victims filed a claim against the government. The Gadhafi government denied the killings and attempted to bribe the families into silence. Instead of accepting the bribe, the families began protesting every Saturday in Benghazi, one of the places the Libyan unrest began this year.

By Rachel Foy

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/25/world/africa/libya-mass-grave/index.html?hpt=wo_c1