Britain apologized on Thursday for contributing to the mistreatment of Abdel Hakim Belhaj, a former Libyan official, who was kidnapped in Thailand and handed over to Libya in 2004 and subsequently “tortured,” in a rare admission of wrongdoing.
"The UK government's actions contributed to your detention, rendition and suffering," Prime Minister Theresa May said in a letter to Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar, which was read out in parliament by Attorney General Jeremy Wright.
"On behalf of Her Majesty's government, I apologize to you unreservedly," the letter read.
Boudchar was in the public gallery of the House of Commons with her son, now 14, to hear the apology. Belhaj was given a copy of May's letter by Britain's ambassador to Turkey in Istanbul, where the family now lives.
Wright said as part of an out-of-court settlement, Boudchar would receive 500,000 pounds (565,000 euros). Belhaj did not seek financial compensation, saying he only wanted an apology.
Belhaj, a former leader of the "Libyan Islamic Fighting Group" that had opposed Muammar Gaddafi, and Boudchar were kidnapped by the CIA in Thailand in 2004 and sent to Libya. Belhaj spent six years in custody and says he was tortured repeatedly.
A tip-off from British intelligence helped the CIA abduct them.
Meanwhile, the Libyan National Army (LNA) has once again snubbed a request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hand it over Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a Special Forces commander in the eastern Libyan city of Beghazi, an official told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Werfalli’s case, which includes allegations of committing "war crimes," is currently “closed because he is on trial by a military court” linked to the LNA, the official said.
The court hasn’t completed the trial due to ongoing investigations, he added.
