Scottish police officers plan to interview him in connection with the Lockerbie bombing, raising the prospect of a second Lockerbie trial.[2]
Gaddafi government
According to The Guardian, Senussi has had a reputation for evolving Libya's military since the 1970s. During the 1980s he was head of internal security in Libya, at a time when many opponents of Gaddafi were killed. Later, he was described as the head of military intelligence, but it is unclear whether he actually held an official rank. He was also thought to have been behind an alleged plot in 2003 to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.[1]
After Senussi's marriage to Gaddafi's wife's sister in the 1979, he entered the elite circle of Libya's leader and assumed various roles including Deputy Chief of the External Security Organization.[3]
US embassy cables described him as being a confidant of Gaddafi who made "many of his medical arrangements".[1] He was known to seek Gaddafi's approval at any cost, even if it went against his morals and beliefs.
2011 Libyan civil war
During the 2011 Libyan civil war, he was blamed for orchestrating killings in the city of Benghazi. He was believed to have extensive business interests in Libya.[1]
On 1 March 2011, Libya's Quryna newspaper reported that Gaddafi had sacked him.[4] However, in the summer of 2011, there was for the first time a new position in Libya that was created for him, the position was General Chief of Intelligence Services and was given a general rank.
On 21 July 2011, Libyan opposition sources claimed that Senussi had been killed in an attack by armed rebels in Tripoli; however, a few hours later the same sources recanted on their earlier claim and some said he might have just been injured.[6]
On 30 August 2011, there were reports that both Senussi's son, Mohammed Abdullah al-Senussi,[7] and Muammar Gaddafi's son, Khamis, were killed during clashes with NATO and NTC forces in Tarhuna.[8] Some initial reports falsely claimed that Abdullah Senussi had died as well.[9] After the Battle of Tripoli, Senussi evaded capture and met Muammar Gaddafi and Mutassim Gaddafi in Sirte, but later left to inform his wife that their son had been killed.[10] In October, Arrai TV, a pro-Gaddafi network in Syria, confirmed that Khamis Gaddafi had been killed on 29 August and reported that Mohammed Senussi was killed that day as well.[11]
On 20 October, Niger Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum told Reuters that he had fled to Niger.[12] However, a Libyan fighter later told the Guardian that the rebels had the possession of three other men who were in Gaddafi's convoy when he was killed and that he believed one of them was Senussi.[13] The other two were identified as Gaddafi's slain son Mutassim and one of his military commanders Mansour Dhao,[13] who was still alive and confirmed his identity, as well as details of Gaddafi's death,[13] to Human Rights Watch while in the hospital;[13] Dhao was earlier thought to have fled to Niger.[13]
Later reports surfaced that Senussi from his hideout in Niger was helping Saif al-Islam Gaddafi escape from Libya.[14] Senussi was reportedly captured on 20 November near the city of Sabha. It was afterwards reported that he would be taken to Tripoli to stand trial for charges of crimes against humanity, according to the National Transitional Council.[15] However, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo doubted Senussi was captured.[16] Libyan defense minister Osama Jweli also stated that there was no evidence Senussi had been captured.[17] On 4 December 2011, Abdullah Nakir, a Libyan official, told Al Arabiya that Senussi was arrested and was being questioned about a secret nuclear facility Gaddafi was operating,[18] but admitted that the Libyan government was unable to produce any photographs of him in custody.[18]
Arrest and legal cases
On 17 March 2012, news reports stated that Senussi had been arrested at Nouakchott airport in Mauritania.[19][20] The Libyan government was reported as having requested his extradition to Libya.[21]
In September 2012, Lebanese foreign minister Adnan Mansour and a Lebanese judge questioned him on the fate of Imam Musa Sadr to which he admitted that the Imam was killed after a heated argument with Gaddafi, and it was Saeed Rashed who carried out the killing as always.[22]
On 5 September 2012, Mauritania extradited Senussi to Libyan authorities. A trial against Senussi for crimes he allegedly committed during the time he was a close assistant to Gaddafi started in Libya.[23] On the grounds that Senussi's case was being tried in Libyan courts, the International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded its case against Senussi in July 2014.[24]
In September 2013, Senussi's daughter, Anoud, was kidnapped after serving a 10-month sentence for using a forged passport.[25] Libyan security forces later admitted being behind the kidnapping and claimed that it was for her "own protection."[26][27]
In July 2015, Senussi was sentenced to death by a Libyan court. Mass protests broke out in Sabha and Brak to protest the sentence and members of Senussi's Magarha tribe threatened to turn off water supply from the Great Man-Made River to Tripoli, unless the sentence was overturned.[28] The case was under appeal as of October 2015.[29] As of 9 May 2018[update], the ICC continued to monitor the progress of the Libyan legal proceedings against Senussi.[30]
In March 2019, twenty family member and members of Senussi's tribe, the Magarha, called for Senussi to be released on the basis of medical problems and "to contribute to and consolidate national reconciliation".[32]
In December 2022, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah stated that Libya did not intend to extradite Senussi to the United States.[37] It was alleged that his extradition was halted due to public anger after the extradition of another ex-senior Libyan intelligence operative, Mohammed Abouagela Masud, to the United States.[38]
^"July 21st Updates". Libya February 17th. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Italics and (*) indicate that a person was convicted by the ICC and that the conviction remains valid; a name in (parentheses) indicates that charges were dropped or a conviction was overturned; † indicates a person deceased before or during trial; (x) after a name indicates that the case was closed by the ICC because of a national-level trial of the accused
