The Discriminatory Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, received a letter from the Libyan Public Prosecutor, Counselor Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, in which the latter inquired about the legal motives for continuing to arrest Hannibal Gaddafi, who has been detained in Lebanon since 2015, and a statement of the legal aid that Lebanon needs from the Libyan side, in the file of the kidnapping and disappearance of Imam Musa. Al-Sadr and his two companions, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badr Al-Din.
It appears that Libyan cooperation is conditional on observing the requirements of domestic law.
A Lebanese judicial source said, “The Libyan memorandum asked to provide it with the accusations attributed to Libyan officials. The Lebanese judiciary had previously issued arrest warrants in absentia against them, accusing them of involvement in the crime of kidnapping and hiding Imam Musa al-Sadr and his two companions on Libyan soil in 1978, and enabling the Public Prosecution in Libya to interrogate them and provide Lebanon with results of the interrogation.
The source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Aweidat “referred the book to the judicial investigator in this file, Judge Zaher Hamadeh, to review it and provide answers to provide them to the Libyan side.”
He explained that Judge Hamada “began studying the Libyan message, being concerned with the file, and he is in the process of preparing a report refuting the accusations against Hannibal Gaddafi, and the data available against him about the charges against him in the al-Sadr file, which consequently led to his detention since 2015 until now.”
The Lebanese judiciary accuses Hannibal Gaddafi of “concealing information regarding the fate of al-Sadr and his two companions, in addition to his direct connection to the crime, because he was responsible for political prisons in the last years of his father Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.”
The Libyan step represents a positive development, as it is the first time that the Libyan Prosecutor General has agreed to cooperate with the Lebanese judiciary in a file that is a priority for the majority of the Lebanese.
A source following this file told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the positivity shown by the Libyan side came as a result of the failure of all the pressure exerted on Lebanon to release Hannibal Gaddafi, who has been detained for 8 years in the prison of the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces,” noting that The Libyan Public Prosecutor “offered assistance in exchange for the release of Gaddafi Jr. and enabling him to leave Lebanon, either to Libya or any other country of his choice, including Syria, where he was residing as a refugee following the fall of his father’s rule, and this assistance provides Lebanon with information about all the Libyan figures accused of the case.” the chest”.
The Libyan judicial letter that was received by Judge Oweidat, and a copy of which was received by the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Abboud, and the judicial investigator in Al-Sadr’s file, Judge Zaher Hamadeh, acknowledges what it called “the challenges facing the Lebanese investigation into the disappearance of Al-Sadr and his two companions.”
The letter emphasized that “the capabilities are available to overcome these challenges through conducting judicial cooperation between the public prosecutions of the two countries, even if the matter requires a request for international legal assistance, there is no objection.”
It is noteworthy that the Libyan side “is seeking the approval of the Lebanese judiciary to enable the Libyan Public Prosecution to listen to Hannibal Gaddafi’s statements, discuss with him the information he provided and find out the information he withheld, and then provide the Lebanese authorities with the results as soon as the procedure is completed.”
The judicial source said: “The Libyan request is not clear about whether the hearing of Hannibal will take place in Lebanon or abroad.”
The source stated that “the Libyan positive does not mean the extradition of wanted Libyans from the pillars of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, given that the rules of the Libyan Criminal Procedure Code prohibit the extradition of a Libyan who has been accused abroad of committing a felony or misdemeanor.” However, he pointed out to “the possibility of taking legal measures locally, and that when providing the Libyan Public Prosecution with the facts attributed to the Libyan officials who are defendants in the case, the Libyan Public Prosecution can hear their statements about them, and provide the Lebanese authorities with the results at appropriate times.”
2023-08-12 18:02:26
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