Tripoli, 31 July:
Saadi Qaddafi has applied for his UN-imposed travel ban to be temporarily lifted so he can leave Niger where he . . .[restrict]is currently living in exile.
At present, Niger, refuses to accede to Libyan demands that he be extradited because it believes he would not receive a fair trial. But he cannot leave the country because Interpol issued a “red notice” for his arrest last September. It means he cannot leave, even if another country were to welcome him.
Qaddafi’s lawyer, Nick Kaufman, insisted on Monday that safety was his client’s primary consideration in wishing to leave Niger. In an interview with CNN, he claimed that “there has been at least one assassination attempt”. He added that instability in neighbouring Mali could also put Saadi in danger.
The lawyer refused to elaborate on where Saadi would go if allowed to leave Niger, saying only “he has certain destinations he’d like to go to”.
Mexico, Venzuela, Bahamas, Canada and Australia have all been mentioned in past months as places Saadi would like to go to. But, almost certainly, none of them, other than Venezuela, would have him.
Kaufman made the application to the UN’s sanctions committee in late June, but has been informed that the application has been put on hold. He says he fears that the block is political rather than administrative and, if put in place by one of the Security Council’s Permanent Members, may be indefinite.
Meanwhile, Saadi’s Toronto apartment has effectively been seized because of unpaid fees. Records show that Toronto Standard Condiminium Corp. No. 1964 filed a lien against the property, valued at C$ 1.6 million, “for unpaid common expenses in the amount of C$4,431”.
Saadi bought the luxury waterside penthouse during a 2008 visit to Canada.
Kaufman has said that Saadi is unable to pay the fees because his assets were frozen by the UN during last year’s revolution, along with those of the rest of his family. [/restrict]
