Tripoli, March 15: The Egyptian government is “seriously considering” a request from Libya to extradite former Qaddafi officials according to an . . .[restrict]official at the Foreign Ministry.
“Egypt’s chief prosecutor has ordered all those requested by Libya to be barred from leaving the country and placing others already outside Egypt on inbound watch lists as a precautionary measure,” said Amr Rushdi.
The ministry spokesman added that the request had been officially made by Libya’s Attorney General, Abdulaziz Al-Hasadi. At the end of February, Al-Hasadi was in Cairo for talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, in an effort to resolve the issue.
Libya has on more than one occasion asked Egypt to hand over 36 Qaddafi-regime officials who fled to Egypt last year. They include former coordinator of the Egyptian-Libyan relations Ahmed Qaddaf Al-Dam, former Foreign Minister Ali Treki, military intelligence chief Bouzeid Al-Jabou and Tuhami Mohamed Khalid, head of internal security.
Libya has made it clear that relations with neighbors that continue to harbor Qaddafi regime figures cannot be fully normalized.
Other Qaddafi figures in Egypt sought by Libya include: Abdullah Mansur who was in charge of the main radio and television stations; Ali Al-Kelani who is accused of running torture chambers with the revolutionary liaison committee office; Imran Abu Karaa; Nasser Al-Mabruk; Tayib Assafi who had a prominent role in the management of anti-revolutionary contacts; Mohamed Hijazi; and Senussi Sulaiman Al-Wizri who for several years was head of the internal security agency and is accused of being a main figure in the prosecution and torture of political prisoners
Earlier this month, it was reported from Cairo that the Egyptian police were holding Libya’s former deputy health minister Adel Addeib. It has also been reported that Qaddaf Al-Dam was arrested by the Egyptian police, then released and had since left the country.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abdurrahim Al-Kib has denied that Libya was preventing the return of Egyptian workers to Libya to put pressure on Cairo to hand over Qaddafi exiles in Egypt. He was speaking on the sidelines of the national reconciliation conference in Zliten.
Libya, he said, would address the issue of foreign migrant workers purely in the light of its own interests, adding that it would respect the rights of foreign workers and prevent any practices that harm their security and wellbeing.
The Prime Minister said he hoped to visit Egypt soon to discuss ways to develop relations between the two countries, including the demand to hand over the remnants of the Gaddafi regime. He said it was vital and necessary that they be brought before the courts.
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