Salhine Zerouali, a Libyan blogger and freelance reporter for local independent outlet Al Ghayma, has been detained since May 2024 and is facing trial before a military court over his Facebook posts.
Masked men from a security agency arrested Zerouali in downtown Ajdabiya, 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of the northeastern city of Benghazi, on May 15, 2024, while he was driving with his -9-year-old son. The men beat the journalist in front of the child, who was left in the street, and then brought Zerouali to a detention center in Ajdabiya before transferring him to a military prison in Benghazi.
Zerouali, a former presenter for local independent news channel Libya Al-Hadath and contributor to the University of Ajdabiya’s media department, was arrested for Facebook posts on his personal page, that charges say are critical of the Libyan National Army and considered by authorities as promoting terrorist groups. He previously faced arrest twice in 2019 on similar accusations.
Zerouali was not included in CPJ's 2024 prison census report because CPJ was not aware of his case at the time.
Zerouali appeared before a military court in Benghazi for the first time on March 13, 2025, after months of trial delays, and his lawyers were denied access to the case files. The court dropped several charges, including weapons possession and terrorist affiliation, but is prosecuting him for allegedly publishing material for “hostile” media outlets.
As of July 2025, Zerouali remains held in a military prison in Benghazi, according to a local journalist who is following the case and spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
CPJ’s call to the Libyan military requesting comment on Zerouali’s arrest was unanswered.