By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 24 March:
The headquarters of the Libyan Military Intelligence was blockaded yesterday by staff protesting about the appointment . . .[restrict]of former General National Congress (GNC) member Salah Badi as its new head.
Officers and other staff members from the department complained at the decision to appoint Badi as the Director of Military Intelligence.
It appears that Badi, a former Air Force officer, was appointed in November last year, following his promotion to Colonel by order of GNC head, Nuri Abu Sahmain. However, the decision was not made public until very recently.
The entrances to the Tripoli headquarters was blockaded with sand bags, according to Bawabat Al-Wasat. They said they would prevent Badi from entering the building and one of the protesters said that Badi was not qualified to do the job.
Spokesman for the Military Intelligence Commission Abdul Basset Al-Shaari said that although the Commission had heard about Badi’s appointment, it had not been asked to vet him.
“We haven’t received any papers to investigate him after his appointment as chief of Military Intelligence,” Shaari said. “When he was promoted to colonel, he also should have been investigated by the Commission but again we didn’t receive the relevant papers so we could not open the enquiry.”
Badi was elected as an independent to Congress in July 2012 and became a member of Wafa bloc. He resigned following the request by Misrata’s Local Council that all the city’s GNC representatives to do so following the Gharghour massacre in November 2013 in which some 40 people were killed and scores injured. [/restrict]
