A Libyan delegation is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Wednesday afternoon to finish extradition procedures for Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, a former Qadhafi era official from Libya, a high-ranking Libyan official told the Turkish Anadolu news agency.
Al-Dam is a cousin of former Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, who was killed during Libya's revolution turned civil war in 2011. He served in the Qadhafi government as a coordinator of Egyptian-Libyan relations.
Egypt's Public Prosecution decided on Tuesday to detain Qaddaf al-Dam for 30 days until procedures of the Libyan extradition request are finished. Police arrested him on Tuesday in his house in the Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek.
Kamal Guirguis, head of the prosecution’s International Cooperation bureau, ordered the arrest of al-Dam along with two other Qaddafi-era officials: Mohamed Mansour, chairman of the Libyan Production Shift Fund, and Ali Marya, a former ambassador.
Guirguis said the prosecution received a request two months ago from Interpol demanding the arrest of 13 Libyans in Egypt for involvement in corruption cases during Qadhafi’s rule.
Public Prosecutor Talaat Abdullah referred al-Dam to central Cairo prosecution for investigation on charges of attempting to kill policeman, resisting authorities and possessing unlicensed weapons.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Egyptian diplomatic source said that “communications between the Egyptian and Libyan sides are taking place to know the requirements by the Libyan side.”
The Libyan government welcomed the arrest of al-Dam. The deputy president of Libya's National Congress praised Egypt's decision.
Libya has called on Egypt to extradite figures affiliated with the Qadhafi regime, which was overthrown in 2011.
Earlier in March, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan warned at a conference with his Egyptian counterpart Hesham Qandil against the damage that former Qadhafi officials who have fled to Egypt could cause to the country.
Judicial sources told the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper that Al-Dam’s extradition could be linked to the investigation of the attack against an Egyptian Church in the Libyan city of Benghazi last week.
Meanwhile, al-Dam’s brother Ali Qazaf described the arrest as “high treason” and claimed it was politically motivated.
Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, he defended his brother by saying, “He didn’t commit any crime. He is not wanted for killing revolutionaries.”
He added that Egyptian police had actually rescued his brother from a failed kidnapping attempt carried out by Libyan officers.
