TRIPOLI, January 2, 2012 (AFP)
TRIPOLI, January 2, 2012 (AFP)
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on Monday promised to hand over former Libyan premier Baghdadi al-Mahmudi to Tripoli if he was guaranteed to receive a fair trial.
“When there are guarantees of a fair trial, yes it is your right to judge” Mahmudi, said Marzouki during his first state visit to Tripoli since he was elected Tunisia’s president.
“As is our right to demand the extradition of (former Tunisian president Zine el Abidine) Ben Ali to try him for crimes he committed, you also have to the right to ask for the extradition of Mahmudi,” he told a meeting of civil society groups.
Mahmudi is currently incarcerated in Mornaguia, near Tunis.
The 70-year-old was Libya’s prime minister until the final days of the regime of the late Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.
Mahmudi was convicted on September 22 of illegally crossing the border into Tunisia and sentenced to six months in prison. He is battling against extradition to Libya.
Amnesty International has asked Tunisia not to extradite Mahmudi, saying he could be subject to rights violations.
According to his defence team, his extradition is not possible until the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees rules on his application for political refugee status in Tunisia.
