http://www.smh.com.au/world/were-keeping-gaddafi-says-libyan-town-20111121-1nqy1.html
We're keeping Gaddafi, says Libyan town Richard Spencer November 22, 2011 "We could put him on trial here - why not?" ... Taher al-Tourki, head of the Zintan Council, has refused to hand over Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, pictured, to Tripoli. Photo: Reuters ZINTAN, Libya: The senior official of the town whose brigades captured Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, have set the ground for a new conflict by refusing to hand him over to the central government. ''We are all Libyans,'' said Taher al-Tourki, the head of the Zintan Council. ''If you ask to take him to Tripoli, it is like you are saying it is a different country. We have the same courts here. We could put him on trial here - why not?'' Advertisement: Story continues below Zintan's refusal on Sunday to give up its prized captive - the son of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi - demonstrated the weak hold the central authorities have on the country. The Zintan brigade, which spearheaded the push on Tripoli in August, is resented in the capital, in particular for its determination to hold on to its weapons, leading to a number of firefights. Saif was being held with four companions in a secret location inside Zintan, Mr Tourki said. He was being well fed and cared for, and would get his due rights. He would be interrogated by a committee established by the attorney-general, with the right to a lawyer ''if that is what the law says''. Mr Tourki said Saif had not slept for three or four days before he was captured. ''He was very tired. We gave him food and calmed him down and he slept in peace last night,'' he said. Osama Jueili, the head of the Zintan Military Council and the man in charge of securing Saif, said he visited him on Sunday and took him to have treatment on his hand that was injured in a NATO air strike as he fled the city of Bani Walid. How long his whereabouts will remain a secret in Zintan - a small mountain city 160 kilometres south of Tripoli which was besieged by Gaddafi forces for three months - remains unclear. Mr Jueili sounded less than confident. ''We are hoping to keep him secure and that he will not escape this time,'' he said. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is investigating whether Iran supplied the Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi with hundreds of special artillery shells for chemical weapons that Libya kept secret for decades. The shells, which Libya filled with highly toxic mustard gas agent, were uncovered in recent weeks by revolutionary fighters at two sites in central Libya. Both are under heavy guard with around-the-clock surveillance by drones, US and Libyan officials said. Telegraph, London; The Washington Post Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/were-keeping-gaddafi-says-libyan-town-20111121-1nqy1.html#ixzz1eSm3GLiu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
