Homage to assassinated “Libyablogger”

“Smile, you're in Benghazi :)” - a message from Tawfik Bensaud, killed last Friday.

Tawfik Bensaud, aged 18, was killed in Benghazi on September 19. This young activist used social media as his platform and was regular contributor to Libyablog, a platform launched in 2012 by FRANCE 24 and RFI.

Unknown armed men killed Tawfik as he was going home. He was with another young activist, 17-year-old Sami El-Kawafi, who was also killed.

'He had put together a small initiative to organise debates in Benghazi'

Salim is a blogger in Benghazi. He was friends with Tawfik.

The first time I met Tawfik was in the winter of 2014. We met at the university in Benghazi, where he was participating in a debate. We ran into each other several times after that during debates, conferences and other activities organised for young people in Benghazi by local youth-oriented NGOs.

He was very young, but he had mastered the art of debating. He often went to Tripoli and Tunis to participate in debates about the political situation in Libya. He loved that, and recently put together a small initiative to organise debates in Benghazi.

He was passionate about protecting the environment and often participated in awareness-raising campaigns about the subject. He hated religious extremists, and was very critical of the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, whose members are part of Ansar al-Sharia.

He was very concerned about the kidnappings and assassinations, which have been happening with increased frequency in Benghazi over the past months. In fact, he recently organised a campaign encouraging car owners to put license plates on their cars, and to get rid of their tinted windows, as this makes assassins and kidnappers impossible to identify. He would stay in the street for hours, explaining his campaign patiently to car owners. He was always enthusiastic and full of energy.

He was killed on Friday evening while driving his car through the al-Kiss neighbourhood. A car drove up close to him, and someone fired. Another activist, Sami El-Kawafi, was next to him in the car and he also died from his injuries.

I want people to remember Tawfik as a bright young man who was optimistic about Libya's future.

In total, ten people were killed in Benghazi over the weekend, a number which testifies to the terrible and growing violence in this eastern Libyan city.

The Observers team wishes to express its support and condolences to the families of Tawfik Bensaud and Sami El-Kawafi.

A message of peace published by Tawfik (center) on his Instagram account. His friend and fellow activist, Sami El Kawafi, is tagged in the post. Sami was also killed this weekend.