Tunisia extradites ex-Libya PM al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi
Former Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali Al Mahmoudi smiles in front of his country’s national flag before meeting his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor (not pictured) in Ljubljana on May 6, 2010.
Libya’s ex-Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi has been extradited to Libya from Tunisia, where he sought refuge during the popular uprising against longtime dictator Col Muammar Gaddafi last year.
Libyan security officials told Reuters news agency that Mahmoudi, 70, had been transferred to Tripoli by helicopter on Sunday, after being arrested in Tunisia last September for illegal entry. He had fled the Libyan capital when it fell to rebel forces around August.
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According to the BBC, human rights organizations had called on the Tunisian authorities not to extradite Mahmoudi, warning that his rights might be violated if he was handed over.
Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki had agreed to return Mahmoudi if his right to a fair trial could be guaranteed, but the Agence France Presse, citing a presidential source, reported Sunday that the decision to extradite Mahmoudi had been made without consulting the president, indicating that Marzouki may not have signed an official extradition order.