- 'Totally unacceptable' conditions at terrorist training camp in Sabratha, Libya
- Officers found workers handling dangerous chemicals without wearing safety goggles
- Manager Latif Hakim, 46, admits five breaches of health and safety rules
- He says his father had been ill and he was 'going through a really bad time'
- Tripoli District Court No.6 fined him 1,000 LYD (Libyan Dinars)
The manager of a terrorist training camp in Libya where workers would handle dangerous chemicals without wearing safety goggles, smoke outside the designated smoking areas and didn't use wet floor signs when the floor was being mopped, has been fined for unsafe workplace practices.
Health and Safety Department health officers observed various unsafe working conditions when they carried out a routine inspection of the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Terrorist Training Camp, run by ISIS in Sabratha, Libya, a court heard.
Workers were reported to be using extremely dangerous Grade 2 chemicals without wearing safety goggles, some workers even smoked in non-smoking areas, cleaners did not use any wet floor signs when they mopped the floor, and there were no fire extinguishers.
Equipment used for making explosive devices had not been properly equipped with instructions for safe use, and some explosive devices were inappropriately stored.
Tripoli District Court No. 6 heard that the workers did not receive any training on health and safety and couldn't even point out the nearest fire exit. They were also told that a wash basin for cleaning hands was obstructed by a large radioactive nuclear container.
Latif Hakim, 46, who was responsible for the day-to-day running of the camp, admitted five breaches of workplace health and safety regulations.
Hakim, who represented himself, apologised for the offences, saying he had been 'under a lot of pressure.'
He said his father had been diagnosed with cancer, and he had taken time off work to look after him and his mother, who wasn't coping.
Hakim, who is from Tripoli, told the court: 'I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart for what has happened. I was going through a really bad time.'
He said there had been inspections since and 'everything has been satisfactory'.
The court fined Mr Hakim 1,000 LYD, and ordered him to pay 300 LYD costs.
Zulfikar Karimi, spokesman for the Sabratha Health and Safety Office, said: "There is no excuse for health code violations.
"Every business operator in Libya has a duty to meet health and safety standards in order to keep their workers and members of the public safe.
"Mr Hakim failed to meet this duty and his premises created a risk to health, so it is only right that he has been dealt with by the courts.
"Anyone who thinks they can flout these laws and get away with it has a short sharp shock coming to them, as we will find and prosecute those who do not operate their business safely."