Abdullah Senussi ( ) is a
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
n national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law.
Scottish police officers plan to interview him in connection with the
Lockerbie bombing
Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boe ...
, raising the prospect of a second
Lockerbie trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands se ...
.
Gaddafi government
According to ''The Guardian'', Sanussi has had a reputation for evolving Libya's military since the 1970s. During the 1980s he was head of internal security in Libya, at a time when many opponents of Gaddafi were killed. Later, he was described as the head of military intelligence, but it is unclear whether he actually held an official rank. He was also thought to have been behind an alleged plot in 2003 to assassinate
Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
[
After Senussi's marriage to Gaddafi's wife's sister in the 1979 he entered the elite circle of Libya's leader and assume various roles including deputy chief of the external security organisation.
US embassy cables described him as being a confidant of Gaddafi who makes "many of his medical arrangements".][ he was known to seek Gaddafi's approval at any cost, even if it went against his morals and beliefs.
]
2011 Libyan civil war
During the 2011 Libyan civil war, he was blamed for failing to orchestrating killings in the city of Benghazi. He was believed to have extensive business interests in Libya.[
On 1 March 2011, Libya's Quryna newspaper reported that Gaddafi had sacked him. however in the summer of 2011, there was for the first time a new position in libya that was created for him, the position was general chief of intelligence services and was given a general rank.
On 16 May 2011, the ]International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
prosecutor sought an arrest warrant for Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.
On 21 July 2011, Libyan opposition sources claimed that Senussi had been killed in an attack by armed rebels in Tripoli; however, a few hours later the same sources recanted on their earlier claim and some even said he might have just been injured.
On 30 August 2011, there were reports that both Senussi's son, Mohammed Abdullah al-Senussi, and Muammar Gaddafi's son, Khamis, were killed during clashes with NATO and NTC forces in Tarhuna
Tarhuna (; ar, ترهونة), also Tarhoona or Tarhunah, is a Libyan town to the southeast of Tripoli, in the Murqub District. The city derives its name from that of its pre- Roman-era inhabitants, a Berber tribe. The city was known as al-Bo ...
. After the Battle of Tripoli, Senussi evaded capture and met Muammar Gaddafi and Mutassim Gaddafi in Sirte, but later left to inform his wife that their son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
had been killed. In October, Arrai TV
Arrai TV ( ar, قناة الرأي) was an Arabic-language television station based in Syria. The channel was owned by Misha'an al-Juburi. During the Libyan Civil War in 2011, it was used by overseas Libyans to defend the Gaddafi government, den ...
, a pro-Gaddafi network in Syria, confirmed that Khamis Gaddafi had been killed on 29 August and reported that Mohammed Senussi was killed that day as well.
On 20 October, Niger foreign minister Mohammad Bazoum told Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
that he had fled to Niger. However, a Libyan fighter later told ''the Guardian'' that the rebels had the possession of three other men who were in Gaddafi's convoy when he was killed and that he believed one them was Senussi. The other two were identified as Gaddafi's slain son Mutassim and one of his military commanders Mansour Dhao, who was still alive and confirmed his identity, as well as details of Gaddafi's death, to Human Rights Watch while in the hospital; Dhao was earlier thought to have fled to Niger.
Later reports surfaced that Senussi from his hideout in Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi ( ar, سيف الإسلام معمر القذافي; born 25 June 1972) is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He was a p ...](_blank)
escape from Libya. Senussi was reportedly captured on 20 November near the city of Sabha. It was afterwards reported that he would be taken to Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
to stand trial for charges of crimes against humanity, according to the National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...
. However, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo
Luis Moreno OcampoMoreno Ocampo's surnames are often hyphenated in English-language media to mark Moreno as a surname, not a given name. (born 4 June 1952) is an Argentine lawyer who served as the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Co ...
doubted Senussi was captured. Libyan defense minister Osama Jweli also stated that there was no evidence Senussi had been captured. On 4 December 2011, Abdullah Nakir, a Libyan official, told Al Arabiya
Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC.
The channel is a fl ...
that Senussi was arrested and was being questioned about a secret nuclear facility Gaddafi was operating,[ but admitted that the Libyan government was unable to produce any photographs of him in custody.]
Arrest and legal cases
On 17 March 2012, news reports stated that Senussi had been arrested at Nouakchott airport in Mauritania. The Libyan government is reported as having requested his extradition to Libya.
In September 2012, Lebanese foreign minister Adnan Mansour and a Lebanese judge questioned him on the fate of Imam Musa Sadr
Musa Sadr al-Din al-Sadr ( ar, موسى صدر الدين الصدر; 4 June 1928 – disappeared 31 August 1978) was an Iranian-born Lebanese scholar and political leader who founded the Amal Movement.
Born in the Chaharmardan neighborhood o ...
to which he admitted that the Imam was killed after a heated argument with Gaddafi and it was Saeed Rashed who carried out the killing as always. On 5 September 2012, Mauritania extradited Senussi to Libyan authorities. A trial against Senussi for crimes he allegedly committed during the time he was the close assistant to Gaddafi started in Libya. On the grounds that Senussi's case was being tried in Libyan courts, the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
(ICC) concluded its case against Senussi in July 2014.
In September 2013, Senussi's daughter, Anoud, was kidnapped after serving a 10-month sentence for using a forged passport. Libyan security forces later admitted to the kidnapping and claimed that it was for her "own protection."
In July 2015, Senussi was sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
by a Libyan court; the case was under appeal as of October 2015. , the ICC continued to monitor the progress of the Libyan legal proceedings against Senussi.
In June 2017, Haitham Tajouri’s Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigade seized al-Hadba prison and relocated Senussi to the Radisson Blu Al Mahary Hotel Tripoli
The Radisson Blu Al Mahary Hotel Tripoli is a modern tourist hotel in Tripoli, Libya, near Grand Hotel Tripoli.
Data & History
It was built in 1989 and completely remodeled in 2009 to international standards as part of Radisson Hotels.
It is l ...
, where he was sighted having a Iftar
Iftar ( ar, translit=Iftar Ramadan, إفطار رمضان), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer ...
meal with his family and members of his Magarha
__NOTOC__
The Magarha (also ''al-Magarha'', ''Meqariha'') () is one of the major Arab tribes of Libya. They originate from Fezzan province of Libya and have been an influential supporters and beneficiaries of Muammar Gaddafi during his long rule ...
tribe.
In March 2019, twenty family member and members of Senussi's tribe, the Magarha
__NOTOC__
The Magarha (also ''al-Magarha'', ''Meqariha'') () is one of the major Arab tribes of Libya. They originate from Fezzan province of Libya and have been an influential supporters and beneficiaries of Muammar Gaddafi during his long rule ...
, called for Senussi to be released on the basis of medical problems and "to contribute to and consolidate national reconciliation".
In December 2020, families of victims of Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...
bombings demanded the British Home Secretary Priti Patel to extradite Senussi to the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
In August 2021, gunmen stormed several water distribution centers and gave the authority 72 hours to release Senussi from detention.
In December 2022, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah stated that Libya did not intend to extradite Senussi to the United States. It was alleged that his extradition was halted due to public anger after the extradition of another ex-senior Libyan intelligence operative, Mohammed Abouagela Masud, to the United States.
References
External links
Libya: Who is propping up Gaddafi?
Frank Gardner, ''BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', 23 February 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senussi, Abdullah
1949 births
Living people
Gaddafi family
Libyan military personnel
People indicted by the International Criminal Court
People of the First Libyan Civil War
People extradited from Mauritania
People extradited to Libya
Libyan prisoners and detainees
Libyan politicians convicted of crimes
Pan Am Flight 103
Place of birth missing (living people)