SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - £1m Libya rendition payout 'considered'

Quote:

The government is preparing to offer a Libyan militia leader a £1m settlement to avoid legal proceedings over his alleged British-aided extraordinary rendition in 2004, it has been reported

Newspaper reports suggest that the money is being offered to Abdel Hakim Belhadj, now head of the Tripoli Military Council, in order to avoid the need for MI6 officers to testify in open court.

Belhadj has claimed he was hung from a wall and tortured by Libyan intelligence services after being arrested in Thailand in 2004 over his connections to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which opposed the Gaddafi regime.

Belhadj was released by the Gaddafi regime in 2010, but is now said to be suing Sir Mark Allen, then-head of counter-terrorism at MI6, for his alleged involvement in the rendition.

During the fall of Tripoli last year, a letter reportedly written by Sir Mark to Libya's then-Foreign Minister Musa Kusa, apparently revealed collusion between the UK and Libyan authorities in the rendition of Belhadj.

http://www.defencemanagement.com/new...y.asp?id=19427

Note: 11 April 2012