He could face life in prison if convicted of “destruction of an aircraft resulting in death” and two other related charges. Dbeibah has faced bitter criticism from political rivals, rights groups and relatives of Libyan detainees who fear being handed over themselves. Dbeibah, after admitting that the handover had taken place, said he had acted “with full respect for Libyan sovereignty”. “Senoussi will not be handed to the United States, he’s in his prison in Tripoli,” Dbeibah told Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya. Libyan analyst Abdallah al-Rayes suspected Dbeibah had done a “political deal” with Washington with an eye to gaining its support to face down eastern rivals.

Source: Libya Today December 31, 2022 07:59 UTC