Wednesday, 11 July 2012

Mauritania: Nouakchott rejects Libyan request for Senussi extradition


At the same time as Nouakchott was demanding Moustapha Ould Limam Chaafi's extradition from Senegal, it was refusing Libya's request for the extradition of Abdullah Senussi. Details of the latter's arrival and arrest in Mauritania, and the competing demands for his extradition, were described in Mauritania Politics & Security 29.05.12.

On Wednesday 4 July, Libya's Prime Minister Abderrahim El-Keib arrived in Nouakchott for a brief one-day visit. This followed a telephone conversation between President Abdel Aziz and the head of Libya's National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jelil, over Senussi's extradition. Senussi, who is also wanted by both France and the International Criminal Court, is awaiting trial in Mauritania for entering the country on a false passport.

Mauritania, however, officially refused Libya's request, giving two main reasons for doing so. Firstly, Senussi has not yet answered the charges of entering the country on a false passport. Nouakchott has also said it was not going to consider Senussi's extradition until after the outcome of the Libyan elections was known and the country was truly stable. Nouakchott gave assurances that Senussi would not be tortured and would receive a fair trial.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

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