The killing of Muammar Gaddafi, implicated in the disappearance of Lebanese cleric Musa al-Sadr, is the latest twist in the 33-year-old saga. Absent legally binding evidence of Gaddafi’s death, the case might drag even further.
The verdict against Muammar Gaddafi in the case of Imam Musa al-Sadr’s disappearance was expected to be issued in two weeks time in a Lebanese court. No one expected Gaddafi to show up at the Council of Justice Hall in Beirut for sentencing. The procedure was more symbolic.
Now that Gaddafi is dead, a senior legal source explained to al-Akhbar that the hearing scheduled for November 18 would still be held as planned. But instead of issuing a final verdict, the court will have to confirm the defendant’s death. An official death certificate is required, but that might be hard to obtain, given the current conditions and chaos in Libya. The matter will need to be pursued by the Lebanese foreign ministry.
He added that “dropping public interest litigation, following confirmation of his death, does not mean that private litigation should stop as well. The plaintiffs have filed claims for compensation. Some have demanded large amounts of money, while others have asked for one Lebanese pound. Following the defendant’s death, private litigation will require an inventory of the inheritance of his legal heirs. This is a difficult task under present circumstances.” Consequently, the issue has become even more complicated.
It is noteworthy that Gaddafi was not the only defendant. The indictment issued by judge Samih al-Hajj, which was adopted by the Council of Justice, included six others: Al-Margani Masoud al-Toumi, a driver at the Foreign Protocols Department of the Libyan Foreign Ministry; Ahmad Mohammad al-Hattab, an employee at the secretariat of the General People’s Congress in Tripoli; al-Hadi Ibrahim Mustafa al-Saadawi, assistant director at Tripoli’s airport; Abdel Rahman Mohammad Ghawila, first lieutenant at the Department of Immigration and Passports; Mohammed Khalifa Sahyoun, director of personnel management at Accidental Company in Tripoli; and Issa Masoud Abdullah al-Mansouri, an employee at the Electrical Projects Plants.
As these defendants are still alive, the Lebanese Council of Justice can still prosecute them in absentia for the different charges filed against them. In addition, there are warrants of permanent inquiry to determine the roles of a number of Libyan public – Abdel-Salam Jalloud, Mohammad Bin Koura, Ahmad al-Atrash, Issa al-Baabaa, Ashour al-Firtas, Ali al-Turaiki, Ahmad al-Shahata, Ahmad Tarhoun, Ibrahim Omar, Mohammad al-Ruhaibi, and the Mauritanian Mohammad Ould Dada.
Despite the fall of Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, some of these figures, like Jalloud, are still free. Yet remarkably, the Lebanese state has not taken any action against them. Jalloud, who was the number two man in Gaddafi’s regime, currently lives in Italy. Even after a recent press conference in which he appeared before the media, the Lebanese authorities made no effort to contact their Italian counterparts to detain him.
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