Abdul Hafiz Ghoga (also known as Abdelhafed Abdelkader Ghoga, also spelled Ghogha; ; born 11 June 1957) is a

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

lawyer who rose to prominence as the spokesman for the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...

, a body formed in

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

during the

2011 Libyan civil war The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

. On 23 March 2011, he became the vice chairman of the council, serving in that post until he resigned on 22 January 2012 after protests against him.

Abu Salim prison massacre

Abdul Hafiz Ghoga was actively involved in legal representation for the families of people killed in the 1996 Abu Salim Prison massacre.

2011 Libyan civil war

Ghoga was a member of the

created during the

and acted as its spokesperson. Ghoga has argued that the council is working for a unified Libya, rather than letting rebel-controlled areas separate from areas controlled by

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

; "''There is no such thing as a divided Libya''". On 27 February, he said that the council was not seeking foreign intervention. On 20 March, he announced that over 8000 people opposed to Gaddafi had been killed. However, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which compiles a database of all reported fatalities due to political violence on the African continent, listed 6,109 fatalities from 15 February to 23 October 2011, of which 1,319 prior to NATO intervention. Ghoga criticised a comment by

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

Secretary-General Amr Moussa that was critical of the way in which the Libyan no-fly zone was implemented. Ghoga stated, "Today, when the secretary general spoke, I was surprised. What is the mechanism that stops the extermination of the people in Libya, what is the mechanism, Mr. Secretary General? If the protection of civilians is not a humanitarian obligation, what is the mechanism that you propose to us?"

Resignation

In January 2012, he resigned as Vice Chairman of the Transitional National Council.

References

External links

Profile
at the NTC, with photo * 1957 births Living people People of the Libyan civil war (2011) Libyan lawyers Members of the National Transitional Council Libyan Sunni Muslims {{Libya-politician-stub