Maha Ellawati BENGHAZI — Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail has appointed Brig. Ali Mansour Ferjani as head of the police in Benghazi in place of Col. Mustafa Raqiq, whom he dismissed Saturday. Raqiq's dismissal had been demanded by local police who had been blockading the city's Directorate of National Security with a sit-in. Raqiq was appointed on Nov. 23 in the wake of the assassination of the then head of police, Col. Faraj Drissi. However, he was not the government's first choice as replacement. It initially appointed Col. Saleheddin Awad Daghman but was immediately rejected by the protesting police. The police said Saturday that Raqiq was not up to the task of ensuring security and stability in Benghazi which has seen a string of assassinations and attempted assassinations of senior security officials in the past year. In addition to the dismissal of Raqiq, the police protestors have demanded that the Penal Code be brought into line with Shariah law. Other demands include better healthcare provisions for themselves and their families, higher salaries, the establishment of a Police Council in the city on the same lines as its Military Council, LD 100,000 to be paid to the families of martyrs and treatment for wounded revolutionaries outside the country. They also called for the answers in the investigation into the killing of Drissi and information on the fate of Benghazi's CID chief Abdulsalam Al-Mihdawi who was abducted on Jan. 2 and has not been heard of since. The protesters had insisted that they would not leave until their demands were met. Benghazi has been rocked by often violent protests in the aftermath of the revolution that overthrew longtime ruler Mummar Gaddafi. — Libya Herald
