Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Libya, in another move by the interim government to
consolidate power, has outlawed support for the late Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

The ruling National Transitional Council has issued a law that could
imprison anybody who expresses support for Gadhafi or his former regime.

The law marked one of a series of directives criticized by international
human rights activists.

“Praising or glorifying Moammar Gadhafi, his regime, his ideas or his
sons is punishable by a prison sentence,” the law read.

The laws were issued on May 3 as the ruling council sought to impose its authority over the North African state. More than six months after
Gadhafi’s ouster, large parts of Libya remain under militia control.

“This new legislation is an eerie reminder of draconian legislation that
was used to stamp out dissent during Gadhafi’s brutal four-decade rule,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Libyans took to the streets in February of last year and paid a heavy price to get rid of such repressive practices, not to see them reintroduced.”

Another law bans any news deemed harmful to the military or
national morale. The law calls for a penalty of life in prison.

“If those news reports, rumors or propaganda cause any damage to the
state, the penalty will be life in prison,” the law read. “In conditions of
war, there is a prison sentence for any person who spreads information and
rumors which disrupt military preparations for the defense of the country,
spread terror or weaken the citizens’ morale.”

At the same time, the council granted immunity to those who fought
Gadhafi in 2011. Libyan rebels were said to have engaged in torture during
the seven-month campaign against the Tripoli regime, which began in February
2011.

“There is no punishment for acts made necessary by the Feb. 17
revolution,” the law read. “This includes military, security or civilian
acts undertaken by revolutionaries with the aim of ensuring the revolution’s
success.”

Another law calls for the prosecution of Gadhafi forces. Authorities
were ordered to release by July 12 any alleged Gadhafi loyalist against
whom there is insufficient evidence. In June, the council has scheduled
elections for a legislature.

  Amnesty International, Gadhafi loyalists, ideas or sons’ outlawed in Libya, immunity for Libyan rebels, Liking Gadhafi or his kind is now against the law in Libya, National Transitional Council, Supporting Gadhafi’s ‘regime