Tortured dissident who won £500,000 from UK for its role in rendition wanted ‘for terror attacks’

Tortured dissident who won £500,000 from Britain for its role in his rendition in 2004 is wanted ‘for terror attacks on oil terminals and an airbase’ in Libya

  • Adbel Hakim Belhaj is wanted over alleged involvement in terror attacks in Libya
  • Libya descended into civil war following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi
  • Mr Belhaj was the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, allied to al Qaeda
  • He received an apology from Theresa May for Britain’s role in his rendition 

War-torn Libya has issued an arrest warrant for a dissident given £500,000 by the British government for its role in his rendition.

Adbel Hakim Belhaj is wanted over his alleged involvement in terror attacks on oil terminals and on an airbase in southern Libya.

Mr Belhaj, who leads the country’s pro-Islamist Watan Party, is the most prominent figure among dozens wanted by the attorney general’s office in Tripoli.

Adbel Hakim Belhaj is wanted over his alleged involvement in terror attacks on oil terminals and on an airbase in southern Libya 

He denied the allegations against him, which centre on reports that Sudanese and Chadian mercenaries were paid to create chaos in Libya. And he claimed the warrant was ‘a plot by those in control of security in Tripoli to distance me from the political scene’. 

Libya descended into civil war following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and its UN-backed government in Tripoli is struggling to exert authority.

Mr Belhaj, who was the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was allied to al Qaeda and the Taliban, received an apology from Theresa May last year for Britain’s role in his rendition and that of his pregnant wife. 

Libya descended into civil war following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and its UN-backed government in Tripoli is struggling to exert authority 

Libya descended into civil war following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and its UN-backed government in Tripoli is struggling to exert authority 

He said the CIA abducted them in Thailand and handed them to the Gaddafi regime – where he was tortured – following a tip-off from British intelligence.

Belhaj spent six years taking legal action in UK courts against British officials, including former foreign secretary Jack Straw.

After the fall of Gaddafi, he branched out into business but is still seen as a controversial figure that threatens to disrupt the government in Tripoli.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk