The Libyan government will be investing millions to upgrade its institute at Ta’ Giorni into a centre of excellence as proof of the country’s new face, according to Mahmoud Sawani, the institute’s director (The Sunday Times of Malta, October 6). I certainly hope Sawani will succeed in the objective, not least because both Libya and Malta stand to gain from this investment.

Nevertheless, the new face of Libya is not yet an attractive one. The same issue of The Sunday Times of Malta reported an ambush in Libya where at least 12 soldiers were killed.

Much worse, according to a very recent United Nations report entitled ‘Torture and Deaths in Detention in Libya’, an estimated 8,000 people are being held in detention without having been charged with any crime, and are being subjected to systematic torture. This includes having hot liquids poured on their bodies, being hanged upside down for hours, and being beaten by metal bars.

The same UN report also confirms at least 27 cases of people who were tortured to death, of which at least 11 took place during the first half of 2013. Specifically, the report documents the death of a man who was detained for drinking alcohol and another of a doctor who was attending to the wounds of detainees.

Two years ago, Nato waged war in Libya supposedly “to protect civilians and promote democracy”. To date, Libya still lacks a permanent and legitimate Constitution, as this has yet to be drafted and put to a referendum. All this goes to show that a negotiated settlement instead of a Nato war would have been the best solution for a transition in Libya.