Libya is set to
question Abdullah al-Senussi, Muammar Gaddafi's former spy chief, following his
extradition from Mauritania.
Thursday's
announcement was met with calls by the United States and international rights
groups that Senussi be granted a free and fair trial.
"It will be
critical that Libya take all necessary steps to ensure that he's held securely,
treated humanely and tried fairly in full compliance with Libya's international
obligations," Patrick Ventrell, US state department deputy spokesman, told
journalists.
Senussi, former
head of military intelligence in Libya and one of the most feared men in
Gaddafi's government, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the
Hague, where he is accused of crimes against humanity.
Senussi was extradited
from Mauritania on Wednesday, after his March arrest for illegally entering the
West African country.
Senussi was
discovered in Mauritania as he tried to enter the country from Morocco using a
Malian passport under a different name..
Washington swiftly
urged Libya to ensure that the former spy chief gets a fair trial, but stopped
short of insisting he be handed over to the ICC.
"We think
it's important that he's held to account, whether that's in a Libyan setting or
otherwise," Ventrell added.
However, rights
watchdog Amnesty International said Senussi should have been surrendered to the
international court.
"The decision
to send him to Libya - with its weak justice system and inadequate fair-trial
guarantees - will inevitably delay justice for victims and could lead to
violations of Senussi's rights to a fair trial," Marek Marczynski, head of
the London-based rights group's International Justice campaign, said in a
statement.
In the capital
Tripoli, deputy prosecutor general Taha Baara confirmed that Senussi was back in the country.
"A short time
ago he was delivered to the office of the prosecutor general. He will undergo
routine medical examination before questioning begins immediately
afterwards," he said.
"We will decide
his fate afterwards."
"His
extradition took place following the decision of the Mauritanian courts and its
ratification by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz," Baara
said.
Wednesday's move
came after Libya said Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam would go on trial this month
in the town of Zintan, despite an ICC warrant against him also for arrest on
charges of crimes against humanity.
Activists have
raised concerns that Saif, 40, could face the death penalty if tried in Libya.
Saif's lawyers said on July 31 he wants to be put on trial in The Hague for
justice to be served.
The ICC says
Senussi played a "crucial" role in attempting to crush the popular
revolt that eventually ousted the Gaddafi regime late last year.
In the arrest
warrant issued in June 2011, the ICC said Senussi was an "indirect
perpetrator of crimes against humanity, of murder and persecution based on
political grounds" in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, cradle of the
revolt.
On Wednesday the
ICC told the news agency: "We have not received official information on
the transfer" of Senussi.
"Libyan
authorities have an obligation to surrender Abdullah al-Senussi to the ICC.
Abdullah al-Senussi is wanted by the ICC on the basis of an arrest warrant
issued by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber for alleged crimes against humanity [murder and
persecution] on 27 June 2011," the court said.
Tripoli had pushed
hard for the extradition of Gaddafi's brother-in-law who is also wanted by
France.
A delegation from
Libya, including the defence minister and army chief of staff, was in the
capital Nouakchott on Tuesday for a visit that several official sources said
was in connection with the extradition.
In 1999, a Paris
court sentenced Senussi in absentia to life in prison for involvement in the
bombing of a French UTA airliner over Niger in September 1989.
Interpol had
issued a so-called "red notice" for Senussi on behalf of Libya. It
said he was wanted "for fraud offences including embezzling public funds
and misuse of power for personal benefit".
Senussi was one of
the last members of Gaddafi's inner circle to be arrested. Others still at
large include the former leader's son Saadi, who has taken refuge in Niger.
The ex-spy chief,
in his early sixties, had been on the run for months when he was caught trying
to sneak into Mauritania
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