Saturday, October 20, 2012

Gaddafi Spokesman Moussa Ibrahim Captured after Year on the Run, Claims Libyan Prime Minister's Office

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Moussa Ibrahim, one of the closest advisers of Muammar Gaddafi, has been captured a year to the day after the dictator was killed, according to the Libyan government.

His capture came 12 months after Gaddafi was caught hiding in a storm drain and killed by rebel fighters. Many Libyans had assumed that Mr Ibrahim had also been killed in the chaos following Gaddafi's fall last year, or had escaped abroad to Egypt or another of the North African boltholes used by thousands of Gaddafi supporters.

Instead, the official who became Gaddafi's chief spokesman and the face of the regime appears to have been hiding near the capital.

"Moussa Ibrahim was arrested at a checkpoint in the town of Tarhouna," read a brief statement from the prime minister's office after rumours that he had been detained spread on social networking sites. "(He) is being taken to Tripoli where he will be handed over to the pertinent authorities to begin questioning."

Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagur confirmed the news on microblogging site Twitter with the following post: "Criminal Moussa Ibrahim was arrested and he is now on his way to Tripoli." » | Nick Meo | Saturday, October 20, 2012