Foreign secretary Jack Straw faces trial threat over Libya rendition

Legal action: Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Jack Straw

Πηγή: LES
By Craig Woodhouse
April 18 2012


A Libyan military commander will drag Jack Straw to court if the former foreign secretary does not reveal whether he signed papers allowing his alleged rendition, lawyers said today.

Abdel Hakim Belhadj’s legal team said he was determined to get an “admission or acknowledgment” after deciding to sue Mr Straw.

The move follows reports suggesting the Labour MP signed documents that allowed Mr Belhadj, 45, to be taken by CIA agents from Thailand to Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya via UK-controlled Diego Garcia in 2004.

Mr Belhadj claims he was seized en route to Britain while living in exile in China, sent back to Libya and imprisoned and tortured.

The civil action seeks to examine Mr Straw’s role in the rendition and claim damages from him for the trauma. It is believed to be the first time such legal proceedings have been taken against a former foreign secretary.

Sapna Malik, a partner at lawyers Leigh Day & Co, told BBC Radio: “The real issue here is not about the amount of compensation — it’s really to get public acknowledgement and an admission from Jack Straw and those others involved of their role in his rendition.”

However, she added that damages might be sought “in due course”.

Mr Straw, who served as foreign secretary between 2001 and 2006, has been given a month to respond or face having to defend himself in court.

The Blackburn MP was sent a letter yesterday asking him to produce a number of documents. They include papers mentioned in a Sunday Times article which alleged that Mr Straw signed off the rendition, as well as his diaries, memoirs and notes from March 2004 onwards.

Sami Al Saadi, a Libyan who claims to have shared the same fate as fellow Gaddafi opponent Mr Belhadj, is also taking legal action against Mr Straw.

Mr Belhadj, a key military figure in the uprising that toppled Gaddafi last year, is already suing the Foreign Office and MI6. The Metropolitan Police are investigating his claims. British ministers have always denied any complicity in rendition or torture. A spokesman for Mr Straw said he had no comment to make about the events.

In an interview with Radio 4 last year, he said the Labour government had been opposed to unlawful rendition, “were not complicit in it, nor did we turn a blind eye to it”. According to the Sunday Times, this prompted MI6 officers to show him evidence he had signed off the operation.

Libya Finance Minister Blasts Qatari Aid to Militia Groups

NTC leader Jalil visits fighters Tuesday in Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte.

Πηγή: Wall Street Journal
By CHARLES LEVINSON

Oct 12 2011

TRIPOLI—Libya's governing National Transitional Council issued its sternest public rebuke of Qatar on Tuesday, warning the Gulf emirate to stop funneling arms, money and other support to Libyan factions without the approval of Libya's interim governing authority.

"It's time we publicly declare that anyone who wants to come to our house has to knock on our front door first," Ali Tarhouni, Libya's oil and finance minister and the deputy chief of the NTC's executive committee, told a news conference. "I hope this message will be received by all our friends, both our Arab brothers and Western powers."

Mr. Tarhouni didn't name Qatar, but his comments came in response to a journalist's question about recent allegations that Qatar has continued to ship weapons to militia leaders in Libya weeks after the capital's fall, and without the approval or knowledge the ruling NTC. An NTC official said afterward that Qatar was "without any doubt" the target of his comments.

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the controversial Islamist commander of the Tripoli Military Council who is alleged to have received the most recent weapons shipments, denied the allegations. "We do not receive any help, military or non-military from any entity," he said in an interview. "I challenge anyone to prove otherwise."

Mr. Tarhouni's comments come as tensions are heating up between the country's Western-backed and more secular minded NTC leadership, and a loose-knit coalition of Islamist militia leaders who played a leading role in the fight to oust Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Those tensions have been evident elsewhere in the capital as well. In recent days, followers of the rigid Salafi school of Islam have destroyed dozens of gravestones at mosques around Tripoli, saying gravestones are a form of idolatry that violates Islamic law. On Tuesday night, they faced off with local militia men defending a mosque in Tripoli's Zawiyat al-Dahmani neighborhood that had gravestones the hardliners sought to destroy.

NTC head Mustafa Abdel Jalil denounced the grave vandalism at Tuesday's news conference and asked religious authorities to issue a decree against it. "It's not allowed in Islamic law to do this," he said.

Mr. Tarhouni's comments mark a jarring change in tone for Libya's leadership toward Qatar. The tiny sheikhdom was one of the rebels' most robust backers throughout the conflict, providing aid, weapons and advanced communications gear, among other support, for the six-month rebel effort to oust Mr. Gadhafi.Qatar also dispatched teams of special-forces soldiers to train rebel fighters.

But the Qatari aid circumvented the NTC, the official interim governing body established by rebels to oversee territories freed after more than three decades of Gadhafi rule. Instead, Qatar channeled most of its support to independent rebel militias that were dominated by Islamist commanders, according to Western and rebel officials.

Qatari officials deny they have played favorites or armed any faction of the rebels at the expense of another.

Mr. Tarhouni spoke Tuesday during the unveiling of budget documents that cover the NTC's spending from March to late September. Little of the funds needed to arm, equip and supply rebel forces were channeled to fighters through the NTC, according to the records, which were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

NTC officials have grumbled for months about what they allege is Qatar's favoritism within the rebel ranks. But they have largely avoided airing their criticisms publicly at the risk of alienating a key backer for their struggle against Col. Gadhafi.

Now that Col. Gadhafi is on the run and rebel commanders and political leaders are jockeying for influence, Qatar's support for mostly Islamist forces in the country has become increasingly controversial. Mr. Tarhouni's comments appear to be the most defiant challenge to Qatar by a senior NTC leader to date.

"To any country, I repeat, please do not give any funds or weapons to any Libyan faction without the approval of the NTC," Mr. Tarhouni said. "Do not enter our territory unless NTC approves it."

Rebels fearful of Islamist takeover in Libya

Πηγή: The Washington Times
By Ashish Kumar Sen

Sep 29 2011

Qatar’s support for a former jihadist leader who is now the top rebel commander in Tripoli, Libya, is causing unease among Libyan rebels who worry that the revolution that ended Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s four-decade rule is being hijacked by Islamists.

Rebel sources say that Qatar has provided shipments of weapons to Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the rebels’ top military commander in Tripoli. He founded the now-disbanded Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which was listed as a foreign terrorist group by the State Department.

Multiple rebel sources who spoke to The Washington Times on background said containers packed with weapons have been delivered to Mr. Belhaj in recent weeks. Some of these shipments have originated in Qatar.

Earlier this month, rebels from the western city of Zintan intercepted a container that on inspection was found to be packed with weapons. Mr. Belhaj’s supporters earlier had insisted it contained food and milk.

“We are very sorry the Qataris have taken the decision to supportBelhaj’s brigade. This will backfire on our Qatari friends,” said Mohamed Benrasali, a senior member of the rebels’ stabilization team for Libya.

“It is because of [Belhaj‘s] background that everyone is suspicious,” he added.

The Qatari Embassy in Washington did not respond to calls or email requesting comment.

In 2004, Mr. Belhaj was thought to have links to al Qaeda and was arrested by the CIA in Thailand. He was handed over to the Gadhafi regime for interrogation and held in Tripoli’s notorious Abu Salim prison, where he says he was tortured.

Mr. Belhaj denies that his group had ties to al Qaeda.

But Mr. Belhaj’s past is a worry for Mazigh Buzakhar, a Tripoli-based activist who is struggling to win recognition for the minority Amazigh community in Libya’s new constitution.

“Instead of legitimizing Mr. Belhaj, Qatar should deal directly with theNTC [National Transitional Council],” he said.

Not everyone is worried about Qatar’s actions.

Shahrazad Kablan, who helped set up Libyan TV in Qatar, said she doesn’t think Qatari support for Mr. Belhaj will lead to the kingdom putting all its support behind the Islamists.

“Qatar does not share that ideology,” she said.

Meanwhile, Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Marco Rubio of Florida met Thursday with rebel leaders in Tripoli - the highest-profile U.S. delegation to visit Libya since the overthrow of Col. Gadhafi.

Also Thursday, the rebels moved closer to bringing all of Libya under their control by capturing the airport in Sirte, Col. Gadhafi’s birthplace and his tribal stronghold.

And the international police agency Interpol issued a “red notice” for another of Col. Gadhafi’s sons, Saadi Gadhafi, who is living in Niger, where he fled this month.

Nigerien Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said Mr. Gadhafi would not be extradited.

Col. Gadhafi’s whereabouts are unknown.

Qatar was among the first countries to recognize the rebels' council as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

Early in the uprising, which began in February, it helped the rebels sell oil, and its air force participated in enforcing a U.N. no-fly zone over Libya.

Qatari flags fly in Libyan cities as a sign of appreciation for its support.

However, this support from an absolute monarchy for a democratic uprising has raised some eyebrows.

“There is still an enormous amount of gratitude toward Qatar,” said Nizar Mhani, a Britain-based doctor who spent seven months in Libya, where he co-founded the Free Generation Movement in support of the rebels. “Questions are cropping up: Why was Qatar so extraordinarily helpful?”

A Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it is obvious that Qatar is jockeying for a bigger role in the region.

“They are trying to announce themselves on the world stage,” he said.

Qatar’s actions, in part, have been influenced by Sheik Ali Salabi, a prominent Libyan Islamic scholar who lives in the Qatari capital, Doha. He frequently travels to Libya and has delivered personally some of the Qatari aid to fighters on the front lines.

Mr. Salabi has close ties to Mr. Belhaj. The sheik’s brother, Ismail, is the commander of a powerful rebel brigade in eastern Libya.

The Salabi brothers have been critical of some of the rebel leaders. Ali Salabi described them as “radical secularists” backed by the West. He has been especially critical of acting prime minister Mahmoud Jibril, and has warned that the NTC is leading Libya into a “new era of tyranny” that would be worse than that of the Gadhafi regime.

Writing in London’s Guardian newspaper this week, Mr. Belhaj warned outside powers not to “impose leaders” on Libya.

“What worries us is the attempt of some secular elements to isolate and exclude others. Libya’s Islamists have announced their commitment to democracy; despite this, some reject their participation and call for them to be marginalized,” he wrote.

“It is as though they want to push Islamists towards a nondemocratic option by alienating and marginalizing them. We will not allow this: All Libyans are partners in this revolution and all should be part of building the future of this country,” he added.

The Islamists do not have a big support base in Libya’s predominantly secular society.

Mr. Belhaj’s own popularity has plummeted in Tripoli because of his actions. He moves around the capital with large entourages that residents say are reminiscent of the days of the Gadhafi regime.

“He is not synonymous with the kind of rule that people want to see in Libya,” said Dr. Mhani.

A European diplomat, who spoke on background, said European officials have in private meetings with the rebel leadership sent “very strong messages that there should be no tolerance for extremist groups that might want to use Libya as a place where they could develop a presence.”

“We would like to see an inclusive transition toward democracy in Libya. Most certainly there will be a component of Islamist parties, because they are the reality of Libya’s political scene,” he added.

Delays by the NTC in forming a government also have fueled some rebels’ resentment of the council.

“We are trying to show maximum restraint and unity, but these politicians are testing our patience,” said Mr. Benrasali.

Islamists emerge in force in new Libya

Πηγή: Washington Post
By Leila Fadel

Wednesday, September 14

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, commander of the Tripoli Military Council, is now responsible for keeping order in Tripoli. He was formerly the emir of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

TRIPOLI, Libya — For decades, bearded men in Libya were afraid to walk in the streets or go to the mosque, worried that to be seen as an Islamist would land them in prison, or worse.

As Libya’s leader, Moammar Gaddafi regarded Islamists as the greatest threat to his authority, and he ordered thousands of them detained, tortured and, in some cases, killed. The lucky ones fled the country in droves. But with Gaddafi now in hiding, Islamists are vying to have a say in a new Libya, one they say should be based on Islamic law.

Although it went largely unnoticed during the tumultuous civil war the regime lost last month, Islamists were at the heart of the fight, many as rebel commanders. Now some are clashing with secularists within the rebels’ Transitional National Council, prompting worries among some liberals that the Islamists — who still command the bulk of fighters and weapons — could use their strength to assert an even more dominant role.

“We don’t want any vacuums or for those Islamists to steal the revolution,” said a senior rebel leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the internal rifts.

Among the Islamists in the rebel ranks, a small fraction were militants who had previously waged war abroad. Some had fought Islamic wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya and Kosovo under a militant banner; some ended up in the arms of more extreme groups such as al-Qaeda. The city of Derna, a key bastion of resistance against Gaddafi in eastern Libya, was home to dozens of Libyan fighters who fought in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

In the fight against Gaddafi’s forces, the Islamist militants played an important role among the rebels’ rag-tag forces because of their experience in battles abroad. With a place in the new Libya, most have said that their days as militants are over. The largest of the organizations, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, has re-branded itself as the Libyan Islamic Movement for Change.

Some Islamists are blunt in expressing resentment about fellow rebels.

“Secularists don’t like Islamists,” said Ismail Sallabi, an influential cleric who is among nine leaders commanding rebel forces in eastern Libya. Before the revolution, he said, he had never held a weapon. “They want to use Islamists in the fighting stage and then take control.”

“I’m proud to be an Islamist, and this is a historic chance for the West to understand Islamists up close,” Sallabi said.

Libya is a conservative Muslim nation, and its future government will probably reflect that; the governments of Egypt and Iraq are among Arab states that base their governance on Islamic law. While Gaddafi’s government tolerated little in the way of activism, Libya’s Islamist groups appear to have emerged from his reign as the best-organized among political groups, and secularists among Libya’s new leaders appear determined not to alienate them.

One early step intended to rein in Islamists is the creation of a Supreme Security Committee, which has put the most powerful rebel commander, former militant Abdelhakim Belhadj, under civilian control. But in an interview, Ali Tarhouni, a liberal who heads the committee, also sounded a conciliatory note.