Abdullah Senussi is a
Libyan national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi died from airstrike he was 61/62.. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law.
December 5, 1949- August 29, 2012
Scottish police officers plan to interview him in connection with the
Lockerbie bombing, raising the prospect of a second
Lockerbie trial.
[2]
According to
The Guardian he had a reputation for brutality
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
had been described as the head of military intelligence, but it is
unclear whether he actually held an official rank. In 1999 he was
convicted
in absentia in France for his role in a
1989 bombing
of a passenger plane flying over Niger that resulted in the deaths of
170 people. Libyans believe he was responsible for massacring 1,200
prisoners at the
Abu Salim jail in 1996. He was also thought to have been behind an alleged plot in 2003 to assassinate
Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
[1]
US embassy cables described him as being a confidant of Gaddafi who makes "many of his medical arrangements". During the
2011 Libyan civil war, he was blamed for orchestrating killings in the city of
Benghazi and recruiting foreign
mercenaries. He was believed to have extensive business interests in Libya.
[1]
On 1 March 2011, Libya's
Quryna newspaper reported that Gaddafi sacked him.
[3]
On 16 May 2011, the
International Criminal Court prosecutor announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant for Abdullah Senussi on charges of
crimes against humanity.
[4]
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.
[5]
On 30 August 2011, there were reports that both Senussi's son,
Mohammed Abdullah al-Senussi,
[6] and
Muammar Gaddafi's son,
Khamis, were killed during clashes with NATO and NTC forces in
Tarhuna.
[7] In October,
Arrai Televison, a pro-Gaddafi network in Syria confirmed that Mohammed Senussi and Khamis Gaddafi had been killed on 29 August.
[8] On 20 October, Niger foreign minister Mohammad Bazoum told Reuters that he had fled to Niger.
[9]
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.
[10] The other two were identified as Gaddafi's slain son Mutassim and one of his military commanders
Mansour Dhao,
[10] who was still alive and confirmed his identity, as well as details of Gaddafi's death,
[10] to Human Rights Watch while in the hospital;
[10] Dhao was earlier thought to have fled to Niger.
[10]
However, later reports surfaced that Senussi from his hideout in Niger was helping
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi escape from Libya.
[11] Senussi was reportedly captured on 20 November near the city of
Sabha. It was afterwards reported that he would be taken to
Tripoli to stand trial for charges of
crimes against humanity, according to the
National Transitional Council.
[12] However, ICC chief prosecutor
Luis Moreno Ocampo doubted Senussi was captured.
[13] Libyan defense minister
Osama Jweli also stated that there was no evidence Senussi had been captured.
[14] On 4 December 2011, Abdullah Nakir, a Libyan official, told
Al Arabiya that Senussi was arrested and was being questioned about a secret nuclear facility Gaddafi was operating,
[15] but admitted that the Libyan government was unable to produce any photographs of him in custody.
[15]
On 17 March 2012, news reports stated that Senussi had been arrested at
Nouakchott airport in
Mauritania.
[16][17] The Libyan government is reported as having requested his extradition to Libya.
[18]
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