British Ex-Foreign Secretary Accused in Qaddafi Foe’s Rendition
New York Times / RAVI SOMAIYA
18-Apr-2012

LONDON — Lawyers for a Libyan military commander, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, said on Wednesday that they had begun legal action against a former British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, following accusations that Mr. Straw was directly involved in secret rendition operations that delivered him and another man to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s secret police in 2004.  Legal papers served on Mr. Straw, a statement from the law firm Leigh Day said, are the first move in an action that “seeks to examine” Mr. Straw’s possible role in the rendition of Mr. Belhaj and another Libyan man, Sami al-Saadi. The men were opponents of Colonel Qaddafi. Mr. Belhaj was then a leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which British and American officials suspected of links to Al Qaeda; he is now head of the Tripoli Military Council, which was set up after the Qaddafi regime fell last year. Though he seeks damages from Mr. Straw, the statement said, “his predominant aim in taking legal action is to seek an apology for what took place and for the truth to be known.”  The move follows similar actions against the British government, its security forces and Mark Allen, the former head of counterterrorism for MI6, the foreign intelligence service, based on evidence found in the rubble of Colonel Qaddafi’s intelligence agencies after the fall of Tripoli to rebel forces. It included letters that appeared to implicate British officials in cooperating with Colonel Qaddafi’s agents.  The stat... >>>

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