Tripoli, 2 June:
Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi, the last head of government under Libya’s former regime has asked the Tunisian authorities not to hand . . .[restrict]him over to Libya.
Libya has asked the Tunisian authorities to hand over Al-Mahmoudi so that he can stand trial for charges against him in its courts.
However, the lawyer and head of the Mustaqila (independent) Association for the Defense of Tunisian Human Rights, Abdul Sattar Bin Musa, said on Friday that Al-Mahmoudi refuses to be tried in Libya for fear of not getting a fair trial according to international standards.
Bin Musa went on to explain that it is not the case that Al-Mahmoudi refuses to appear before the judiciary per se.
Meanwhile, Libya’s Minister of Interior Fawzi Abdelal, during a meeting in Tripoli with a visiting Tunisian delegation on Thursday expressed the readiness of the Ministry of Interior to secure the trials of those who had committed a crime against the people of Libya.
The head of the Tunisian government, Hamadi Jebali, also announced on Wednesday that Libya has provided guarantees verbally and in writing to respect the rights and physical integrity of Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi. He also added that the independent Tunisian Commission on Human Rights had traveled to Libya to ensure conditions of a fair trial for Al-Mahmoudi, before he was handed over to the Libyan judiciary. [/restrict]
