Islamists flogging man in Qaddafi’s hometown shocks Libyans

A video of bearded Islamists taking turns to flog a man in former Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi’s hometown, Sirte, has left people in the country in shock, Al Arabiya reported Saturday.

Although it was not clear what the man had done to deserve the punishment, the floggers – who belonged to Ansar al-Shariah (Partisans of Islamic Law) – were apparently executing his sentence.

Flogging people who have committed adultery exists within Libya’s legal system, however, such a sentence has not been carried out in decades.

Although some members of anti-Qaddafi forces have joined the country’s army, others still roam around carrying weapons.

In 2012, Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility for the violence that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in the Mediterranean city of Benghazi.