The Egyptian Foreign Ministry is in talks with Libyan authorities to extradite officials from the former regime of Muammar Qadhafi to Libya.
“Libya's request for some officials from the former Libyan regime who may be residing in Egypt to be handed over has our full attention and is being examined by the relevant Egyptian bodies, including the Foreign Ministry,” ministry Spokesperson Amr Roshdy said in a Thursday statement.
He added that the Egyptian government is working to expedite its response to Libya’s request, and is taking into consideration judicial cooperation agreements that have been signed between the two countries.
Earlier in the month, Libyan Attorney General Abdel Aziz al-Hassady asked his Egyptian counterpart to hand over certain Libyan officials who he says are residing in Egypt.
In response, Egyptian Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud added Libyan figures suspected to be living in Egypt to a travel ban list as a precautionary measure until authorities determine if they are in the country.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr has instructed his assistant to meet with relevant authorities to examine ways to respond to the Libyan request in conformance with Egyptian laws.
Roshdy added that some of the wanted Libyan officials have indeed been found to be residing in Egypt.
The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper said on 2 March that Hassady had submitted a file to Egypt containing the accusations leveled at the absent officials.
The paper quoted Hassady as saying there are 40 Libyan officials that require extradition. The paper also cited anonymous Egyptian sources as saying that the initial list submitted by Libya included 36 figures who were believed to be living in Egypt since August. Libya’s governing National Transitional Council then reduced the number to 18, saying they only wanted figures who committed crimes punishable by Libyan law.
The paper said Ahmed Qadhaf al-Dam, Qadhafi’s cousin and general coordinator for Egyptian-Libyan relations, Omran Bukra, the head of Arab affairs at the Libyan foreign ministry, and Nasser Mabrouk, a former interior minister, are among the wanted Libyan officials.
Translated from MENA
