Tripoli, 8 August 2013:
A Libyan man wanted by the US authorities on charges related to the killing of US ambassador Chris . . .[restrict]Stevens has denied involvement.
Reports in the US media yesterday said that Ahmed Abu Khatala, along with a number of as yet unnamed suspects, was facing criminal charges in the case of the attack on the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi on 11 September 2012.
Khatala, however, told the Associated Press yesterday that he had not been questioned by Libyan authorities over the attack. He added that he was not in hiding, but was living a normal life in his city.
He reportedly said that if the US wanted to question him, they should get in touch with the Libyan authorities.
Khatala, who has variously been named as the leader of both Ansar Al-Sharia in Benghazi and a militia group called Abu Obaida Bin Jarrah, told Associated Press that he was now a construction contractor.
Both The New York Times and CNN have reported that, during interviews, Khatala admitted to being in the compound but denied involvement in the attack that left Stevens and three other Americans dead.
A spokesperson from the US embassy in Libya told the Libya Herald that it was not able to comment on “news reports.” [/restrict]
