Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant'
13th December 2012, 14:02
The UK government has agreed to pay £2.2m to a Libyan dissident and his family who say MI6 was involved in their illegal rendition.
Sami al-Saadi and his family say they were forcibly transferred to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Libya in 2004.
Their lawyers say the pay-out ends the family's legal action against the UK, in which they were arguing MI6 was instrumental in their kidnap.
The UK still faces a further allegation of rendition from another Libyan.
There has been no comment so far from the Foreign Office. In a statement issued by his solicitors, Mr al-Saadi said: "My family suffered enough when they were kidnapped and flown to Gaddafi's Libya.
"They will now have the chance to complete their education in the new, free Libya. I will be able to afford the medical care I need because of the injuries I suffered in prison.
"I started this process believing that a British trial would get to the truth in my case. But today, with the government trying to push through secret courts, I feel that to proceed is not best for my family.
"I went through a secret trial once before, in Gaddafi's Libya. In many ways, it was as bad as the torture. It is not an experience I care to repeat. Even now, the British government has never given an answer to the simple question: 'Were you involved in the kidnap of me, my wife and my children?'"
(More at - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20715507 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20715507))
Sami al-Saadi and his family say they were forcibly transferred to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Libya in 2004.
Their lawyers say the pay-out ends the family's legal action against the UK, in which they were arguing MI6 was instrumental in their kidnap.
The UK still faces a further allegation of rendition from another Libyan.
There has been no comment so far from the Foreign Office. In a statement issued by his solicitors, Mr al-Saadi said: "My family suffered enough when they were kidnapped and flown to Gaddafi's Libya.
"They will now have the chance to complete their education in the new, free Libya. I will be able to afford the medical care I need because of the injuries I suffered in prison.
"I started this process believing that a British trial would get to the truth in my case. But today, with the government trying to push through secret courts, I feel that to proceed is not best for my family.
"I went through a secret trial once before, in Gaddafi's Libya. In many ways, it was as bad as the torture. It is not an experience I care to repeat. Even now, the British government has never given an answer to the simple question: 'Were you involved in the kidnap of me, my wife and my children?'"
(More at - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20715507 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20715507))