Libya Renditions: The CIA, MI6 and Gaddafi's Secret Prisons

How British and US secret services collaborated with the former Libyan regime to detain and torture dissidents.

In 2004, Sami al-Saadi and Abdel-Hakeem Belhaj - two Libyan opponents of the Muammar Gaddafi regime - were abducted en route to the United Kingdom, then repatriated to Libya where they were imprisoned and tortured.

But following the 2011 uprising and the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime, the two men - who were released from detention in 2010 - began to investigate the real story behind their abduction, and the role played by the UK government.

Two years later in 2013, Al Jazeera's Juliana Ruhfus gained exclusive access to the men as they returned to Libya in search of answers.

The Lust for Libya: How a Nation was Torn Apart

The legacy of the life and death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Torn asunder by competing local, regional and international forces, its survival as a singular nation-state is under threat.

Once Africa's wealthiest country with the continent's largest oil reserves and highest standard of living, Libya, liberated from a dictator's grip, is mired in a violent, internecine conflict that has left many of its people struggling for food, fuel and security.

So how did it come to this?

Libya is split between rival governments and conflicting centres of power - one in the east of the country and one in the west - each backed by militias fighting for their own share of Libya's loot seven years on from the violent overthrow of the Gaddafi regime.

The Battle of Misrata

Five years on, Misratans reflect on the siege of their city and how it played a role in the downfall of Gaddafi.

The Libyan revolution started in February 2011. Misrata in northwestern Libya was one of the main strongholds against the then President Muammar Gaddafi, along with the city of Benghazi.

In this film, we meet some of the people who not only witnessed the 13-week battle for the city but took part in some of the fiercest fighting of the civil war, with the minimum of training and experience.     

As in Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria, early 2011 saw public frustration in Libya turn into open protest. It began in the northeastern city of Benghazi and the next day the people of Misrata also came out in numbers.  

The Battle of Misrata

Five years on, Misratans reflect on the siege of their city and how it played a role in the downfall of Gaddafi.




The Libyan revolution started in February 2011. Misrata in northwestern Libya was one of the main strongholds against the then President Muammar Gaddafi, along with the city of Benghazi.

In this film, we meet some of the people who not only witnessed the 13-week battle for the city but took part in some of the fiercest fighting of the civil war, with the minimum of training and experience.

As in Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria, early 2011 saw public frustration in Libya turn into open protest. It began in the northeastern city of Benghazi and the next day the people of Misrata also came out in numbers.

"Misratans took to the streets in support of the demonstrations in Benghazi. They showed solidarity, just like the people of Zintan did with our brothers in the east. It was a duty rather than a favour," says university professor Ibrahim Saffar.