Outrage in Libya over a video of a woman being publicly flogged for adultery

What the report says

A video circulating on social media has stirred anger in Libya after appearing to show a woman being publicly flogged in Sabha, in the country’s south, for an adultery case. France 24 Africa reports that the footage was filmed on July 21 and shows the woman kneeling in a street as a judicial police officer carries out the punishment ordered by a court. The clip has drawn criticism both for the public setting and for the underlying law used to justify the sentence.

According to the report, the woman was sentenced to 100 lashes under Libyan law governing extramarital sexual relations. The article says the punishment was carried out in a public space, despite the legal requirement that such sentences be administered at a police station and in the presence of a prosecutor and doctor. Human rights advocates quoted by France 24 described the scene as degrading and said it highlighted broader concerns about the justice system.

The incident also revived debate about women’s rights and legal practices in Libya, where power has been divided between rival authorities since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Sabha is controlled by the eastern-based authorities aligned with Khalifa Haftar, while the UN-recognized government sits in Tripoli. The report notes that rights groups have warned about torture, discrimination, and restrictions affecting women in recent years, and that public punishments have reportedly occurred before in Sabha.