Letter sent by the city of Zuwara condemning the decision to release Mahmoudi

The news that the Libyan prime minister under Muammar Gaddafi, Baghdadi Mahmoudi, was acquitted by a Tunisian court yesterday of charges of illegally entering Tunisia was met with reactions of indignation in Libya today.

A young woman from Zuwara, a student in Tripoli and member of the Libyan NGO H2O, a post-revolution group that works for to inform Libyans about the progress of the country’s transitional period, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed her displeasure with the Tunisian authorities’ decision.

“Mahmoudi is a criminal, and I do not understand [Tunisian President Moncef] Marzouki’s fears that Mahmoudi may face capital punishment in Libya,” she stated.

Another local from Zuwara expressed similar feelings regarding the decision.  Abdulaziz Assara, director of the Institute of Freedom’s Dawn in Zuwara, said that there is a sense of frustration among a segment of the Libyan population. According to Assara, inhabitants of Zuwara have been pushing for the extradition of Mahmoudi to Libya since it was alleged that he incited Gaddafi loyalists to murder residents and rape women of the town during the uprising a year ago.

“We have nothing against Tunisians, but many in Zuwara are quite upset by the decision. People of Zuwara want to know what went wrong, because we made requests to the Libyan National Transitional Council to present Tunisian authorities with documents that incriminate Mahmoudi with incitement to kill Libyans during the revolution,” Assara stated.

Local organizations in Zuwara called for a march to be held this Friday, demanding more transparency concerning Mahmoudi’s case in Tunisia.

Abdurrahim Ettira, a receptionist at a Benghazi hotel, expressed his resentment regarding the Tunisian authorities’ decision not to extradite Mahmoudi. “This will damage relations between Tunisia and Libya. There is no reason for not handing over a criminal like Mahmoudi,” said Ettira.

Regarding the inability of the Libyan justice system to guarantee a fair trial for former regime loyalists, Ettira stated that the judiciary is currently in the hands of the NTC, which is still in the process of formulating its policy with regards to transitional justice.

Ettira blames the NTC for its inaction on the case of Mahmoudi and its lack of cooperation with Tunisian authorities. “We recognize Tunisians’ generous support during our revolution and their sense of empathy nonetheless,” he added.

However, Fathi Terbel, Youth and Sports Minister in the NTC government, placed the blame on pre-existing Libyan justice system, which has yet to be reformed. “We do not have a reliable justice system in Libya that guarantees any Gaddafi supporter a fair trial,” he insisted.