Abdelhakim Belhaj
Abdelhakim Belhadj | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 (age 57–58) Souq al Jum'aa, Tripoli |
| Allegiance |  Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (1995 -) National Transitional Council (2011–) |
| Service | Army |
| Commands | Tripoli Military Council |
| Battles / wars | Afghan Civil War, 2011 Libyan civil war |
Abdelhakim Belhadj (Template:Lang-ar, nom de guerre Abu Abdallah Assadaq[1]) is the emir of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group,[2][3] and a Libyan commander of the anti-Gaddafi forces in the civil war that started in 2011.
Early life
Born in 1966 in the Souq al Jum'aa area of Tripoli, he studied at Al Fateh University, where he earned a civil engineering degree.[4]
Libya, Afghanistan/Soviet war, LIFG
Wanting to rid Libya of Colonel Gadaffi, Belhadj joined other young Islamists who formed a group, but were pursued from the country before they could achieve anything.[5] Leaving the country, via Saudi Arabia he arrived in Afghanistan,[5] and became an Islamist fighter in the Soviet-Afghan war.[3]
In 1992, after the Mujahideen took Kabul, he travelled across the Middle East and Eastern Europe, before retunring to Libya in 1992.[5] There he formed with others the [Libyan Islamic Fighting Group] (LIFG), which tried to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi from 1994 onwards. Belhadj was known during this period as Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq, and was part of the LIFG that fought an insurgency campaign based from eastern Libya. But after three unsuccessful assassination attempts on Gadaffi, the LIFG was crushed in 1998.[4]
Arrest in Bangkok, return to Libya via CIA rendition
Belhadj and other leaders of the LIFG fled to Afghanistan, and joined the Taliban. In 2002, after the September 11 attacks and Gadaffi's reconciliation with the west, an arrest warreant was isssued for Belhaj by the Libyan authorities. In it, it was alleged that Belhaj had developed "close relationships" with al-Qaeda leaders, and specifically Taliban chief Mullah Omar.[4] Based in Jalalabad, he is alleged to have run and financed training camps for Arab mujahideen fighters.[4] After the United States entered Afghanistan under the command of the United Nations to confront the Taliban, the remaining members of the LIFG left the country, and roamed Europe and South East Asia.[4]
Tracked by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), after a tip-off from MI6 gained from London-based informants,[6] Belhadj was arrested with his pregnant wife in 2004 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia.[5] Transferred on the same plane to Bangkok, he was then placed in the custody of the CIA, where he was retained at a secret prison at the airport.[5][3] Returned to Libya, he was held and tortured in Abu Salim prison for seven years.
In 2010 under a "de-radicalisation" drive championed by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan authorities released him amongst 170 other Libyan Islamists.[3] In March 2011, Belhadj appeared in an unreleased al-Jazeera film, in which he praised the mediation of Saif al-Islam for his release. In responce, Gaddafi's son said that the men who had been freed "were no longer a danger to society."[7]
2011 Libyan civil war
Belhadj was made commander of the Tripoli Military Council, after the rebels took over Tripoli during Operation Mermaid Dawn in late August 2011.[8]
After the rebels had completed their take over of Tripoli, a joint rebel/Human Rights Watch team found documents related to Belhadj and his return to Libya, originating from both the CIA and Britain's MI6. Interviewed jointly by journalists from The Guardian,[6] Le Monde and BBC News's Jeremy Bowen, Belhadj showed the journalists documents relating to his case, and further co-operation between the CIA/MI5 and Libyan security forces under the command of Moussa Koussa. In a later interviewed with captured Abdelati Obeidi, the former Libyan foreign minister under Gaddafi, commented that MI6 had been operating in Tripoli until the start of the revolution in February.[6]
As a result of the allegations, British Prime Minister David Cameron made a statement in the House of Commons, which ordered the inquiry under Sir Peter Gibson, the current UK Intelligence Services Commissioner, to be widened to cover the Libyan allegations.[9]
References
- ^ "Libya to free 170 Islamist prisoners -charity". Reuters. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
- ^ Gunaratna, Rohan (2010). "Interviews with leadership of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group". Combating Terrorism in Libya through Dialogue and Reintegration (PDF). Singapore: International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Nanyang Technological University. p. 18.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d "From Holy warrior to hero of a revolution: Abdelhakim Belhadj". asharq alawsat. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Profile: Libyan rebel commander Abdel Hakim Belhaj". BBC News. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "'We Are Simply Muslim': Libyan Rebel Chief Denies Al-Qaeda Ties". Le Monde/Time Magazine. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ a b c "MI6 knew I was tortured, says Libyan rebel leader". The Guardian. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ Ian Black (5 September 2011). "The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group – from al-Qaida to the Arab spring". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ "Who is Abdul Hakim Belhadj, the leader of the Libyan rebels?". Middle East Monitor. 5 September 2011.
- ^ "Torture inquiry to examine UK-Libya intelligence links". BBC News. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
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