By Houda Mzioudet.
Tripoli, 20 March 2014:
Monday’s court hearing for Qaddafi’s last Prime Minister Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi was adjourned, in a session in . . .[restrict]which his Tunisian lawyer was not to allowed to speak to him.
The penitentiary administration, which falls under the Ministry of Justice, did not allow Leila Ben Debba access to him. His other Tunisian lawyer Mehdi Bouaouaja did not attend the session
The media were not allowed in. Representatives from the United Nations and ICRC were granted access, however, albeit for a limited time.
The session was held in Hadba prison, where Mahmoudi is being imprisoned, with other Qaddafi-era figures including Abdullah Senussi. The recent addition of Saadi Qaddafi to the prison, Bouaouaja said, could have contributed to increased security measures and court restrictions.
“People attending the session were actually harassed,” Ben Debba told the Libya Herald, without specifying what form this took. She was able to see Mahmoudi from afar but could not speak to him, she added.
Mahmoudi faces a number of charges, including killing civilians during the 17 February Revolution and misuse of public funds. Monday’s hearing, however, was just for the killing of civilians, leading Bouaouaja to voice concerns that Mahmoudi could be tried for the same crime twice.
The hearing had been adjourned to next Monday, the two Tunisian lawyers claimed, adding that they would try and attend it.
Mahmoudi’s Libyan lawyer, Dabaa Ali, however, denied that a hearing was planned for next week. He said his client’s case had been referred to the court of appeals of Tripoli but no date had yet been set for a hearing.
He added that the reason why Mahmoudi’s Tunisian lawyers had not to been to speak to the Qaddafi prime minister on Monday was because they had not fulfilled certain conditions. [/restrict]
