A US lobbying firm closely linked to US President Donald Trump’s administration has been awarded a $2 million contract to represent Khalifa Haftar, a Libyan warlord and de facto leader of large parts of the country who faces multiple allegations of human rights abuses, Middle East Eye reports.
According to lobbying disclosure agreements, "Ballard Partners", which employs former Trump administration officials, has agreed to represent Haftar, the general commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), and his son Saddam, chief of staff of the ground forces. forces.
Haftar and his forces face allegations of human rights abuses committed in the detention centers they run.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for an investigation into these allegations, including torture, summary executions, and the desecration of the bodies of enemy combatants.
The rights group reported that "people who disagree with the Haftar clan have been unlawfully killed, arbitrarily detained, tortured, mistreated, and forcibly displaced".
Haftar is facing multiple lawsuits in the US brought by Libyan families, including an ongoing case alleging that he "deliberately and intentionally tortured" family members of the plaintiff.
In 2022, a US court found Haftar responsible for war crimes against several Libyan families who accused him of extrajudicial killings and torture.
Haftar's legal team denies all charges - some cases have been dropped, but at least one is pending.
Libya has been experiencing years of violence since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with rival administrations and dozens of militias vying for power.
Haftar has emerged as the de facto leader of the east and south of the country and has attacked the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls the west, including the capital Tripoli.
The signing of the lobbying agreement comes amid attempts Haftar to consolidate his family's control over eastern Libya. Each of Haftar's five sons hold influential positions, with his youngest, Saddam, likely to succeed him.
According to a statement from the US embassy on the social network X, Saddam recently met with several US officials, including Trump's adviser on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, and the acting US ambassador to Libya, Jeremy Brent.
According to a report by Africa Intelligence last week, Boulos is considering a power-sharing agreement between Haftar and GNA Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, bypassing elections.
Under the proposed agreement, Haftar would retain control of the security forces and military, while Dbeibah would continue to lead the civilian executive branch.
Human Rights Watch's deputy Middle East and North Africa director Hanan Salah warned that interactions with Haftar and other figures involved in alleged abuses, is "highly problematic".
She stressed that "instead of ensuring that these people are held accountable first for any wrongdoing that may have been committed, we are seeing them being recruited and presented as... the future political elite of this country".