the trial of omar al mukhtar

september 1931

After capture, Omar Al Mukhtar was transported aboard the Italian destroyer Vincenzo Giordano Orsini along the Mediterranean coastline from Bardia, where he had been taken after his capture, to Benghazi, for trial.

Photos of Omar Al Mukhtar in the cutsody of the Italians, being transported to Benghazi aboard the Italian destroyer *Vincenzo Giordano Orsini*

Cyrenaica Parliament, Central Piazza in the Italian Town of Benghazi, where Omar Al Mukhtar was tried on 15 September 1931. Alamy

The trial of Omar al Mukhtar, took place in the courtroom of the Cyrenaica Parliament building in Benghazi at 5.00 pm, on 15 September 19311. Al Mukhtar was led into the courtroom manacled, shackled and surrounded by armed guards.

Also present was an official translator, by the of name was Nasrat Hurmus who was so affected by Omar’s plight that he was unable to continue in his role and had to be replaced by a Jewish gentleman by the name of Lambrozo, who had no official capacity but had been attending the hearings in court2.

Omar Al Mukhtar, brought to the Cyrenaica Parliament for trial in Benghazi, on 15 September 1931.

During Omar’s interrogation by the Italian public prosecutor, by the name of Bidendo, Omar answered the questions put to him in a forthright manner and with conviction, as to the validity of his actions. To the prosecutor's questions regarding his involvement with certain battles or attacks, he responded candidly,

“I took part in all battles. If at times, I was not there, the operation was likewise carried out under my orders.”

At another point in the proceedings, he answered,

“It is useless for you to ask me about single facts. Whatever has been committed against Italy and the Italians for the past ten years was willed and permitted by me, whenever I did not personally take part in the acts themselves.”3

After Omar’s interrogation, the public prosecutor finished his closing speech and requested that the court find in favour of the death penalty4.

Omar Al Mukhtar entering the courtroom, 15 September 1931.

The Courtroom During the Trial of Omar Al Mukhtar, Alamy

The lawyer appointed to defend Omar, an Italian captain by the name of Roberto Lontano, was tasked with speaking on behalf of Omar. Captain Lontano stated that, “As a soldier, I would not hesitate – if my eyes caught sight of ‘Umar al-Mukhtar, in the battlefield, to fire bullets at him to kill him; I would do so as an Italian who hates him. But I have been appointed to defend him; so I ask the court for a verdict, which is, according to me, more dreadful than execution itself; what I mean is life imprisonment, because of his old age.”5/SUP>

The public prosecutor, clearly shaken by this request, asked that the court prevent Captain Lontano from continuing his line of defence, claiming it was not his right to mention Omar’s age, as it was not relevant to the case. The court further ordered Captain Lontano to stay within the bounds of the case.

Determined to continue, Captain Lontano proceeded to argue that “Umar al-Mukhtar, who is in front of you here, was a native of this land before your existence on it. He considers everyone who occupies it by force as an enemy who should be fought fiercely, until he expels him from it or dies doing so. This is a right granted to him by nature and humanity!”6

The courtroom was then overtaken with uproar, as people called for Lontano to be thrown out of the court, and for the verdict of death by hanging to be imposed. Lontano, unshaken, carried on speaking, and asked the court to be merciful, warning the judge, by stating “This suspect, Umar al-Mukhtar, whom I have been assigned unfortunately to defend, is a man who has come of age, and he has nothing left, after passing seventy. Therefore, I ask the court’s justice system to be merciful when issuing the verdict, because he has a right in his case. I warn the court justice system of the judgement of history, because it is not merciful; it is a wheel that turns, recording everything that happens in this disturbed world. I only ask you to reduce the punishment of this man, who was right in defending his religion and his country. Thank you.”

The presiding judge then stopped the trial and went into conference. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the courtroom, he announced the verdict: that Omar al Mukhtar would face death by hanging7.

Another view of the Courtroom During the Trial of Omar Al Mukhtar, The Omar Al Mukhtar Mausoleum Collection.

Upon having the sentence translated to him, Omar laughed and said “Real justice is that of Allah, not your fake one. To Allah we belong and to Allah we shall return.”8

The trial lasted only an hour and fifteen minutes and in that short period the fate of a great man and hero was decided.

There has been much speculation and discussion that the Italians, according to the 1907 Hague Convention of Prisoners of War’, should have treated Omar as a ‘prisoner of war’ and not a criminal, as he had never accepted Italian rule. Should he have been granted this status he would have been treated to prisoner of war customs at that time and held at a secure location for the duration of the war. However, treating him as a criminal allowed them to bring Omar to trial, which many believe was never intended to be fair and just. It is thought that the Italians intention was always to execute him to set an example to all dissenters and to achieve the goal of quelling the revolution. Many believe that the actions of the Italians should be brought to account and that they should expressly apologise to the Libyan people9.

FOOTNOTES.

  1.  As-Sallabi, Ali Muhammad. Omar Al Mokhtar Lion of the Desert. London: Al Firdous, 2011. Pg.172.

  2. Ibid.

  3. Santarelli, Enzo, Girogio Rochat, Romain Rainero, and Luigi Goglia. Omar Al Mukhtar: The Italian Reconquest of Libya . London: Darf Publishers Limited, 1986.

  4.  As-Sallabi, Ali Muhammad. Omar Al Mokhtar Lion of the Desert. London: Al Firdous, 2011. Pg.173.

  5. Ibid., pp 173.

  6. Ibid., pp 174.

  7. Ibid., pp 175-176.

  8. Ibid., pp 176.

  9. Jessikamalo, Raghad Hamad says:, and Nathan Patterson says: “The Real Lion of the Desert.” Through an Arabic Lens: the Intersection of Film and Culture, February 9, 2021. https://arabcinemas.wordpress.com/2021/02/09/the-real-lion-of-the-desert/.