A former Libyan prison boss was described as a "notorious torturer" known as the "Angel of Death" who raped, murdered and abused detainees, the International Criminal Court heard on Tuesday.
The ICC was kicking off three days of hearings against Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, 47, suspected of 17 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed at Mitiga prison near Tripoli between February 2015 and early 2020.
El-Hishri "was widely known as a notorious torturer at the helm of Mitiga prison," said ICC deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan, opening the case for the prosecution.
She quoted one witness saying El-Hishri was "amongst the worst instigators of violence" and another saying he was nicknamed "the Angel of Death".
"One of his preferred torture methods, as described by witnesses, was to shoot people, especially in the leg and knee," alleged Khan.
"He would also hang people with their hands bound behind their backs and beat people with a shovel."
Khan described "unimaginable" conditions at the prison, with overcrowding and illness rife.
El-Hishri, who was in charge of the women's prison, "weaponised" disease by placing detainees in cells where they were likely to be infected, said Khan.
The suspect personally raped, murdered, and tortured prisoners as an "example" to other guards, said the prosecutor.
El-Hishri, dressed in a blue jacket with a blue tie, sat impassively throughout, occasionally nodding his head.
At an initial hearing in December, he had said he was "just requesting my release".
His defence lawyer, Yasser Mohamed Ahmed Hassan, told judges his client denies the allegations and questioned the court's jurisdiction to try the case.
- 'From another planet' -
According to the ICC, a "significant number" of people died during El Hishri's time at the prison from torture, untreated injuries, starvation, or being left outside during the winter.
The proceedings at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, which run until Thursday, are not a trial but "confirmation of charges" hearings.
Judges will assess whether the charges against El Hishri are credible enough to proceed to a full trial. They have 60 days to decide.
They can either confirm the charges, in which case a full trial takes place, throw out the case and free El-Hishri, or change the charges he faces.
El-Hishri is the first suspect to appear at the ICC as part of the court's UN-mandated investigation into Libya which began in 2011.
The oil-rich country is still grappling with the aftermath of the armed conflict and political chaos which followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
It remains divided between a UN-recognised government in the west and its eastern rival, backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
The ICC tries individuals for the world's worst crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court is also seeking Osama Almasri Najim, head of Libya's judicial police, on charges also relating to alleged crimes at the Mitiga prison.
Najim was arrested in Italy but released and returned to Libya, sparking a major political row in Italy and consternation at the ICC.
Prosecutor Khan paid tribute to El-Hishri's alleged victims, whose lives were "shattered" by the abuse they suffered in the prison.
"For them, the nightmare continues," she said, describing the mental and physical anguish still felt by many former detainees.
"I have never seen such horrible things. It is as if they were coming from another planet," Khan cited one alleged victim as telling her investigators.
"They are not humans treating people that way. I think if in the future they were to catch me again, I would rather die than go back there."
