Nermin Al-Sharif, leader of the ITF-affiliated Dockers’ and Seafarers’ Union of Libya, was driving a car near Benghazi that crashed after it was followed by two other cars and shot at. She is now out of hospital and recovering from her injuries.
The ITF has written to the Prime Minister of the interim government in Libya Abdullah al-Thinni calling for more to be done to protect trade unionists and other activists in the country.
General secretary of the ITF, Steve Cotton, urged the Libyan government to step in: “There’s been a series of attacks on brilliant and committed activists in Libya and the government cannot pretend this is not happening. This is part of a campaign to silence democratic debate by any means possible.
"The people of Libya and the union movement need people like Nermin Al-Sharif, and we wish her a speedy recovery.”
It is the second attempt on Nermin Al-Sharif’s life and follows the murder of three other well-known female activists in Libya.
Human rights lawyer Salwa Bugaighis, politician Fariha Al-Berkawi and human rights activist Initissar al-Hasaari have been assassinated in the last 16 months.
Nermin Al-Sharif was one of those who lodged the successful International Labour Organization (ILO) complaint about the use of forced labour in Qatar.
She has been active in the ITF for many years. You can see her talking at a rally at the ITF women’s conference in India in 2014 here.
You can sign a petition calling on Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to protect trade unionists and human rights activists here.
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