Ibn Al-Shaykh Al-Libi - Repatriation To Libya and Death

Repatriation To Libya and Death

In 2006 the Bush Administration announced that it was "transferring high-value Al Qaeda detainees from CIA secret prisons so they could be put on trial by military commissions." But the Administration was "conspicuously silent" about al-Libi.

Noman Benotman, a former Mujahideen who knew Libi, told Newsweek that during a recent trip to Tripoli, he met with a senior Libyan government official who confirmed to him that Libi had been quietly returned to Libya and was still in prison there, but suffering from tuberculosis.

The English language edition of the Libyan newspaper Ennahar reported on May 10, 2009, that Al Libi had been repatriated to Libyan custody in 2006, and had recently committed suicide by hanging. It attributed the information to another newspaper, Oea. Ennahar reported Al-Libi's real name was Ali Mohamed Al-Fakheri. It stated he was 46 years old, and had been allowed visits with international human rights workers from Human Rights Watch.

Al-Libi had been visited in April 2009 by a team from Human Rights Watch, who were reportedly "stunned" to discover al-Libi in Tripoli's Abu Salim prison during their fact-finding mission to Libya. The sudden death of al-Libi so soon after the visit by the HRW team has lead human rights organisations and Islamic groups to question whether al-Libi's death was in fact a suicide. Clive Stafford Smith, Legal Director of the UK branch of the human rights group Reprieve, said "We are told that al-Libi committed suicide in his Libyan prison. If this is true it would be because of his torture and abuse. If false, it may reflect a desire to silence one of the greatest embarrassments to the Bush administration." Hafed Al-Ghwell, a Libya expert and director of communications at the Dubai campus of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, commented "This is a regime with a long history of killing people in jail and then claiming it was suicide. My guess is Libya has seen the winds of change in America and wanted to bury this man before international organisations start demanding access to him." Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said that al-Libi's death means that "the world will never hear his account of the brutal torture he experienced. So now it is up to Libya and the United States to reveal the full story of what they know, including its impact on al-Libi's mental health."

On June 19, 2009, Andy Worthington published new information on al-Libi's death. Worthington reported that former Guantanamo captive, United Kingdom resident, and fellow citizen of Libya Omar Deghayes was his link to a source within Libya who had spoken with al-Libi prior to his death. Based on his Libyan source, Worthington was able to offer a more detailed timeline of Al Libi's last years.

The head of the Washington office of Human Rights Watch stated al-Libi was "Exhibit A" in hearings on the relationship between pre-Iraq War false intelligence and torture. Confirmation of al-Libi's location came two weeks prior to his death. An independent investigation of his death has been requested by Human Rights Watch.

On October 4, 2009 the Reuters reported that Ayman Al Zawahiri had asserted that Libya had tortured Al Libi to death.