BabuK
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- Jul 30, 2008
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The UK government has agreed to pay £2.2m to a Libyan dissident and his family who say MI6 was involved in their illegal rendition.
Sami al-Saadi and his family say they were forcibly transferred to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Libya in 2004.
Their lawyers say the pay-out ends the family's legal action against the UK, in which they were arguing MI6 was instrumental in their kidnap.
The UK still faces a further allegation of rendition from another Libyan.
'Medical care' Mr al-Saadi was a leading Gaddafi opponent and says that he was forced on board a plane in Hong Kong, along with his wife and four children, in a joint UK-US-Libyan operation. The family were flown to Libya. Mr al-Saadi was subsequently held and tortured.
There has been no comment so far from the Foreign Office. In a statement issued by his solicitors, Mr al-Saadi said: "My family suffered enough when they were kidnapped and flown to Gaddafi's Libya.
"They will now have the chance to complete their education in the new, free Libya. I will be able to afford the medical care I need because of the injuries I suffered in prison.
"I started this process believing that a British trial would get to the truth in my case. But today, with the government trying to push through secret courts, I feel that to proceed is not best for my family.
"I went through a secret trial once before, in Gaddafi's Libya. In many ways, it was as bad as the torture. It is not an experience I care to repeat. Even now, the British government has never given an answer to the simple question: 'Were you involved in the kidnap of me, my wife and my children?'"
Sapna Malik, solicitor for the al-Saadi family at law firm Leigh Day, said: "The sheer terror experienced by the al-Saadi family when they were bundled on to their rendition flight and delivered up to their nemesis clearly lives with them all to this day.
"Having concluded one part of their quest for justice, they now look to the British criminal courts to hold those responsible for their ordeal to account and await the judge-led inquiry they have been promised."
A second man, Abdul Hakim Belhaj, is continuing with his legal action against the British government and wants a trial in open court.
Mr Belhaj and his pregnant wife Fatima Boudchar were detained in Malaysia in February 2004 en route to London.
His lawyers claim that MI6 sent a fax to the Libyan intelligence services informing them of their detention. They say they were subsequently flown to Tripoli, blindfolded, hooded and shackled to stretchers.
Once there, Mr Belhaj alleges he suffered four years of torture and isolation.
Human rights charity Reprieve said there needed to be an immediate "full and fair inquiry" into rendition.
Legal Director Kat Craig said: "Everyone agreed that Lord Justice Leveson could do his work properly with serious criminal charges pending against many of the key people, there is nothing to stop the Libyan torture inquiry beginning tomorrow."
Sami al-Saadi and his family say they were forcibly transferred to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Libya in 2004.
Their lawyers say the pay-out ends the family's legal action against the UK, in which they were arguing MI6 was instrumental in their kidnap.
The UK still faces a further allegation of rendition from another Libyan.
'Medical care' Mr al-Saadi was a leading Gaddafi opponent and says that he was forced on board a plane in Hong Kong, along with his wife and four children, in a joint UK-US-Libyan operation. The family were flown to Libya. Mr al-Saadi was subsequently held and tortured.
"The sheer terror experienced by the al-Saadi family when they were bundled on to their rendition flight and delivered up to their nemesis clearly lives with them all to this daySapna Malik Al-Saadi family solicitor said.
The allegations came to light during the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi, when documents relating to the alleged agreement to transport the family were found in Libya.
There has been no comment so far from the Foreign Office. In a statement issued by his solicitors, Mr al-Saadi said: "My family suffered enough when they were kidnapped and flown to Gaddafi's Libya.
"They will now have the chance to complete their education in the new, free Libya. I will be able to afford the medical care I need because of the injuries I suffered in prison.
"I started this process believing that a British trial would get to the truth in my case. But today, with the government trying to push through secret courts, I feel that to proceed is not best for my family.
"I went through a secret trial once before, in Gaddafi's Libya. In many ways, it was as bad as the torture. It is not an experience I care to repeat. Even now, the British government has never given an answer to the simple question: 'Were you involved in the kidnap of me, my wife and my children?'"
Sapna Malik, solicitor for the al-Saadi family at law firm Leigh Day, said: "The sheer terror experienced by the al-Saadi family when they were bundled on to their rendition flight and delivered up to their nemesis clearly lives with them all to this day.
"Having concluded one part of their quest for justice, they now look to the British criminal courts to hold those responsible for their ordeal to account and await the judge-led inquiry they have been promised."
A second man, Abdul Hakim Belhaj, is continuing with his legal action against the British government and wants a trial in open court.
Mr Belhaj and his pregnant wife Fatima Boudchar were detained in Malaysia in February 2004 en route to London.
His lawyers claim that MI6 sent a fax to the Libyan intelligence services informing them of their detention. They say they were subsequently flown to Tripoli, blindfolded, hooded and shackled to stretchers.
Once there, Mr Belhaj alleges he suffered four years of torture and isolation.
Human rights charity Reprieve said there needed to be an immediate "full and fair inquiry" into rendition.
Legal Director Kat Craig said: "Everyone agreed that Lord Justice Leveson could do his work properly with serious criminal charges pending against many of the key people, there is nothing to stop the Libyan torture inquiry beginning tomorrow."
