Col Gaddafi’s Children 'Flee Algeria’
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi’s children have fled Algeria, fearing the oil-rich dictatorship’s improving relations with the new Libya authorities is undermining their safe haven.

Tight restrictions on the family and the prospect of a deal to allow Gaddafi’s widow back into Libya prompted the family to seek refuge elsewhere in Africa, regional officials said.

Reports in the Arabic press this week said that Aisha Gaddafi, the lawyer and most prominent member of the clan, had moved with her brother Hannibal and half-brother Mohammad to an African country.

Because of the UN flight ban on the Gaddafi inner circle, the siblings could most readily gain access to Niger, the impoverished Saharan state where a third brother, Saadi, lives on the presidential compound.

Niger is one of the few options open to the family as offers of asylum in Zimbabwe and Venezuela were impractical. Other countries are less reliable. Mauritania extradited Abdullah Senussi, Aisha’s uncle and Gaddafi’s intelligence chief back to Libya this summer.

A series of recent developments triggered the decision to leave the highly protected, secluded compound that the Gaddafis were granted inAlgerian government, a family associate said. “Definitely they wanted to get out,” he said.

Aisha Gaddafi is said to have grown increasingly frustrated with the restrictions on her communications imposed by the Algerian regime. » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Sunday, November 11, 2012

Dictators and Their Sons: Col Gaddafi's Billionaire Children
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Even as their father proclaimed he was building a classless state built on socialist and Islamic principles, Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi's and his children built vast fortunes in sectors from hostels to oil.

Britain has announced that the assets of the dictator and his family have been frozen, and the Treasury has created a special unit to trace the multi-billion pound assets they are thought to have squirrelled away in investments in the city. For years, though, that fortune helped the Gaddafi family win friends and influence across the world.

Saif al-Islam, the suave, western-educated second son of the Libyan dictator, was the best known of the sons.

Seen as the natural successor to his father before the wave of protests across the north African nation, the 38 year old Saif al-Islam presented himself as a reformer. He was welcomed in the West as the acceptable face of the regime, and claims the Duke of York, Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair among his "good friends".

In 1995, he received his degree in architecture and engineering at Tripoli's al-Fateh University, and then went on to obtain a management degree from the International Business School in Vienna before gaining a doctorate at Britain's London School of Economics (LSE).

Presenting himself as a humanitarian ambassador through the charitable body he set up in 1997, the young Gaddafi – whose name means the sword of Islam in Arabic – was at the heart of the complex negotiations over the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor freed by Libya in July 2007. >>> Fiona Govan | Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Neutral Swiss Hurt by Libyan Row
If anyone has been hurt by the Libyan row, it is Libya itself, because it has shown itself to be just what it truly is: a rogue state. – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Neutral Switzerland has had its reputation as a global mediator dented as weaknesses in its foreign policy are exposed by its escalating row with Libya, analysts said.

Relations between Bern and Tripoli have been strained since July 2008, when one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Hannibal and his wife were arrested in Geneva after two domestic workers complained they had mistreated them.

Libyan [sic] retaliated by blocking two Swiss businessmen from leaving its territory while Switzerland imposed visa restrictions on some Libyans, effectively blocking them from entering Europe's Schengen 25 nation travel zone.

But the row reached new heights this week when Gaddafi called for jihad against the alpine state over a recent Swiss ban on the construction of minarets.

Hasni Abidi, the director of the Geneva-based Study and Research Centre for the Arab and Mediterranean World, said the tussle with Libya was "bad publicity for the Swiss in the Arab and Muslim world," where Switzerland had traditionally played a role in mediation.

Bern was a middleman in ending decades of hostility stemming from World-War I-era massacres between Turkey and Armenia, leading them to sign historic protocols estabilishing diplomatic ties.

Switzerland also represents US interests in Iran and Tehran's interests in Egypt.

However, "this speciality is very certainly weakening given the situation linked to the Libyan crisis," added another analyst, Frederic Esposito, from the European Institute of the University of Geneva.

Abidi added that this was amplified by a Swiss referendum vote last year to ban the construction of new minarets, a move that drew worldwide criticism and which Kadhafi seized on to call for jihad.

Gaddafi knew that Switzerland's role as a mediator is "based on its image of neutrality and impartiality and openness," said Abidi, and therefore he has attacked this image.

Swiss handling of the Libyan crisis has exposed broader weaknesses in its foreign policy, said analysts. >>> Hui Min Neo and Alix Rijckaert, in Geneva for AFP | Monday, March 01, 2010

Swiss Businessman Surrenders to Libyan Police, Ending Embassy Standoff
THE GUARDIAN: Max Goeldi leaves Tripoli refuge in latest twist in diplomatic row between two countries

Max Goeldi is escorted into a waiting police vehicle in front of the Swiss embassy in Tripoli. Photograph: The Guardian
Switzerland backed down today in its standoff with Libya when a businessman taking refuge in the country's embassy in Tripoli surrendered to police who had surrounded the building.

The move averted a confrontation over a long-running row that began when the son of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested in Geneva and charged with assaulting his servants.

Libya had set a deadline of today for the surrender of Max Goeldi, who had been convicted for immigration charges, in a case that was seen as retaliation for the 2008 arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi – an accusation Libya has always denied.

The Swiss foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, said police officers threatened to storm the embassy if the ultimatum to hand over the two men were not heeded.

Goeldi emerged alone from the embassy and was met by a police general and senior justice ministry official before being taken away in handcuffs to start a four-month prison sentence. >>> Matthew Weaver and agencies | Monday, February 22, 2010

Libya Imposes Visa Ban on Europeans
THE TELEGRAPH: Libya has stopped issuing visas to citizens of 25 European nations amid a bitter row between the Gaddafi family and Switzerland.

Members of the continental Schengen free travel zone, including Switzerland, were targeted for retaliation after the Swiss authorities blacklisted 188 senior Libyan figures, including the country's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, and members of his family.

Diplomats said there were scenes of tension as tourists were turned back at Tripoli airport. Britain was exempted from the ban as it is not a Schengen member. >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Monday, February 15, 2010

Gaddafi's Playboy Son 'Attacked Model Wife in £4,000 Claridge's Suite'
MAIL ONLINE: The playboy son of Colonel Gaddafi was at the centre of a police inquiry last night over claims he attacked his wife in a top London hotel on Christmas Day.

Moutassim Gaddafi - known as Hannibal - was staying with his wife, the model Aline Skaf, 29, and their children in a luxury suite at Claridge's when the fight broke out.

Police were called to the family's £4,000-a-night suite at 1.30am after hotel staff heard a woman's screams for help.

But when officers arrived they found the Libyan despot's 33-year-old son locked in the room with his wife - with his bodyguards blocking their way.

Three of the security staff were arrested at the scene for obstructing police officers.

Mr Gaddafi, however, was able to slip away after calling the Libyan ambassador, who informed officers that he had diplomatic immunity.

The Porsche-loving playboy and notorious hell-raiser was then whisked away in an embassy car. >>> Rebecca Camber, Tamara Cohen and Neil Sears | Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Hannibal’s wife, Aline Skaf. All praise is due to Allah, don’t you know? Photo: Google Images

Ghadhafi fordert erneut Entschuldigung: Veröffentlichung des Polizeifotos von Hannibal als Demütigung gewertet
NZZ ONLINE: Nach Ansicht des libyschen Staatschefs Ghadhafi soll sich die Schweiz ein weiteres Mal entschuldigen. Streitpunkt ist dieses Mal das Polizeifoto von Ghadhafis Sohn Hannibal, das in verschiedenen Medien veröffentlicht worden war.

Laut Bundespräsident Hans-Rudolf Merz fordert der libysche Staatschef Muammar Ghadhafi eine Entschuldigung auch für die Veröffentlichung des Fotos in den Medien, das die Genfer Polizei von seinem Sohn Hannibal machte.

Eine weitere Demütigung

«Für ihn (Muammar Ghadhafi) war das der Beweis, dass die Schweiz die Libyer ein weiteres Mal demütigen wollte», sagte Merz in einem Interview, das heute Donnerstag in der Westschweizer Wochenzeitschrift «L'Hébdo» erschien. Er habe vor allem auch verlangt, dass die Verantwortlichen für die Herausgabe dieser Bilder bestraft würden. Die Fotos waren von der Genfer Tageszeitung «Tribune de Genève» veröffentlicht worden.

Merz hatte Ghadhafi vergangene Woche am Rande der Uno-Generalversammlung in New York getroffen. Merz bedauerte im übrigen weder seine Entschuldigung in Tripolis, die «nichts gekostet habe», noch seine Reise nach Libyen. Mit seiner Reise habe er zeigen wollen, dass sich die Schweiz für alle Bürger einsetze, die im Ausland in Schwierigkeiten seien. >>> sda/ap | Donnerstag, 01. Oktober 2009

Kadhafi demande de nouvelles excuses
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: PHOTOS | Selon Hans-Rudolf Merz, le dirigeant libyen a demandé de nouvelles excuses de la Suisse après la publication des photos d'identification de son fils prises par la police .

Khadafi. Crédits photo : Tribune de Genève
Le président de la Confédération Hans-Rudolf Merz révèle que le numéro un libyen a demandé de nouvelles excuses de la Suisse après la publication des photos d'identification de son fils prises par la police genevoise. Sur son voyage à Tripoli, le chef du DFF admet une erreur de communication. «Pour lui, c'était la preuve que la Suisse voulait une nouvelle fois humilier les Libyens», déclare dans un entretien à paraître jeudi dans «L'Hebdo» M. Merz, en référence à la réaction de Mouammar Khadafi aux photos de son fils.

Le leader libyen lui a demandé de nouvelles excuses et des sanctions contre les auteurs des fuites lors de leur rencontre la semaine dernière à New York. «Il y aura des sanctions si la justice peut faire la lumière sur cette affaire», lui a répondu le président de la Confédération. Le numéro un libyen lui a aussi fait part de «son amour pour la Suisse» et lui a donné des dattes et du thé, indique-t-il. >>> ATS | Mercredi 30 Septembre 2009

L’HÉBDO: De Kadhafi à Polanski... Gaffes à gogo >>> Par Chantal Tauxe | Jeudi 01 Octobre 2009

Swiss President Defends Apology in Libya Dispute
ASSOCIATED PRESS: BERN, Switzerland — Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz defended his apology to Libya for the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son, saying Friday it was the only way to secure the release of two Swiss citizens detained by Tripoli.

The apology was heavily criticized in the Swiss media, but welcomed by companies eager to do business in the oil-rich North African country.

"My mission was to ensure that we can work through what happened in Geneva, to get the two Swiss out of Libya — that was my primary aim," Merz told reporters in the capital Bern.

Tripoli cut business and diplomatic ties with the Alpine nation after Hannibal Gadhafi and his wife were arrested July 15, 2008, in a Geneva luxury hotel for allegedly beating up two of their servants. The servants later withdrew their complaint after receiving compensation from an undisclosed source.

Four days after the arrest Libya also detained two employees of engineering company ABB Ltd. — Max Goeldi and Rachid Hamdani — for alleged breaches of immigration rules. Swiss media have described them as "hostages" that Tripoli was using to force an apology from Switzerland. >>> Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press | Friday, August 21, 2009

NZZ ONLINE:
Flugzeug nach Libyen unterwegs: Landung in Tripolis vor 18 Uhr zu erwarten>>> sda | Dienstag, 25. August 2009

The Swiss Eat Brown Pie in Tripoli
THE TRIPOLI POST: Tripoli-Switzerland publicly and officially apologized to Libya on Thursday for the unjustified arrest of Libyan diplomat Hannibal Muammar Al-Qathafi and his family by the Geneva police on 15 July 2008, the Libyan news agency JANA reported on.

Switzerland also apologized for actions undertaken by other Swiss officials, JANA said.

In an agreement signed by the Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz in Tripoli on Thursday and the Secretary of the GPC Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi, Switzerland committed itself not to repeat such actions against Libyan officials and citizens.

Switzerland also said in the agreement that it will improve the treatment of Libyans and facilitate their procedures, reported the Libyan news agency.

"We are apologizing for what happened to Hannibal Gaddafi and the two sides agreed to form a committee to discuss the matter," Merz told reporters in Tripoli.

Al-Baghdadi said the apology and visit by the Swiss President was a beginning to addressing the matter.

"Both countries agree to set up independent arbitration to investigate the circumstances of the arrest," Merz's statement said.

Merz landed in Tripoli earlier in the day Thursday and met with Al-Mahmoudi for closed-door talks. [Source: Switzerland Publicly Apologizes to Libya – The Tripoli Post] | Sunday, August 23, 2009

Britain's New Royalty -- The Oil Potentates
”And I say to my friend Brown, the prime minister of Britain; the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth; Prince Andrew, who all contributed to encouraging the Scottish government to make this historic and courageous decision, despite the obstacles.” – Colonel Qaddafi

THE HUFFINGTON POST: Where British Tradition once mandated subjects to genuflect before their royals, Britain is now busy instructing itself on how to properly render homage by prostrating themselves nose to ground before their new potentates, the oil barons of Araby.

There he was, Libyan Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi who had been found guilty of the murderous Lockerbie air disaster that took the lives of 270 people, stepping off his specially chartered Libyan aircraft to a cheering crowd upon his arrival at the airport in Tripoli. Eichmann being received by a cheering crowd in Germany would have been the same, not in dimension, but certainly in principle.

Al-Megrahi's release was being trumpeted by Mr. Kenneth MacAskill, Scotland's Justice Secretary, as an act of compassion for a man said to be diagnosed with prostrate cancer and having but three months to live. It was a decision met with outrage by family members of the victims, and a general outcry of disgust throughout much of the world ranging from President Obama to FBI Director Robert Mueller, "makes a mockery of the grief of the families who lost their own on December 21, 1988".

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that the act of releasing al-Megrahi had been the the decision of the Scottish Secretary alone. But was it?? Or as commented in the Financial Times, politicians are now prepared to go to extra lengths to maintain good relations with his country -- the richest in North Africa and an important supplier of energy to Europe. Even more pointedly according to Lord Trefgarne, Mr. al-Megrahi's release had opened the way for Britain's leading oil companies to pursue multibillion dollar oil contracts with Libya which had demanded Mr. al-Megrahi's return in talks with British officials and business executives.

Scandalous? Perhaps. But then again maybe not if this has become Britain's new norm. Kowtowing to moneyed Middle Eastern/North African oil interests may not be new but it does assume a singular level of malice when it is dealt with in such a brazen manner trashing tradition and principles of law, in the lust for lucre or responding to outright intimidation and blackmail. >>> Raymond J. Learsey* | Monday, August 24, 2009

*Scholar and Author of 'Over a Barrel: Breaking Oil’s Grip on Our Future'

La Suisse bat sa coulpe face au dictateur Kadhafi
LIBÉRATION: En visite à Tripoli (Libye), le président suisse Hans-Rudolf Merz a mangé son chapeau, jeudi, devant le Premier ministre du dictateur Muammar al-Kadhafi. Il a exprimé ses «excuses pour l’arrestation injuste de diplomates libyens par la police de Genève», en juillet 2008. Il y a un an, Hannibal Kadhafi, fils de son père, avait été brièvement arrêté dans un palace de Genève pour mauvais traitements sur deux de ses domestiques. L’affaire n’a cessé, depuis, d’empoisonner les relations entre les deux pays, la Libye retenant même deux hommes d’affaires suisses dans l’attente d’excuses officielles. Les sociétés suisses étaient par ailleurs interdites de séjour dans le pays des Kadhafi et les livraisons d’or noir libyen à destination de Berne avaient été suspendues. «Ces excuses sont un premier pas pour régler le problème», a assuré Tripoli. Mais la presse helvétique ne s’y est pas trompée qui s’insurgeait, vendredi, contre «l’humiliation» que constitue cette «capitulation» devant la Libye au mépris de l’état de droit. [Source: Libération] | Samedi 22 Août 2009

Affaire Kadhafi: Le triomphe diplomatique libyen
20 MINUTES.ch: En obtenant jeudi la libération du Libyen condamné pour l'attentat de Lockerbie et des excuses suisses pour l'affaire de son fils Hannibal, Mouammar Kadhafi remporte un succès diplomatique retentissant, à une semaine du 40e anniversaire de son arrivée au pouvoir.

La remise en liberté jeudi d'Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, après un long feuilleton judiciaire et diplomatique, a coïncidé avec une visite surprise à Tripoli du président helvétique Hans-Rudolf Merz, venu s'excuser pour l'arrestation en juillet 2008 de Hannibal Kadhafi, une affaire qui empoisonne depuis les relations entre les deux pays.

Accueilli en héros à l'aéroport militaire de Maatiga à Tripoli, malgré les critiques de Washington et Londres, M. Megrahi était considéré officiellement par la Libye comme un «otage politique» entre les mains de l'Occident.

«Nous considérons que Megrahi est un combattant qui s'est sacrifié pour sa patrie et nous devons le respecter», a déclaré à l'AFP l'ancien ambassadeur de Libye à Londres et acteur clé dans le dossier Megrahi.

«Nous sommes contents de son retour (...) et nous considérons que sa libération est un acquis pour la Libye», a-t-il dit.

L'accueil chaleureux réservé à Abdelbaset Megrahi est une «revanche sur l'Occident, qui avait déroulé le tapis rouge pour les infirmières» et le médecin bulgares, au moment de leur libération en juillet 2007 après huit ans de détention en Libye«, estime un journaliste libyen. >>> afp | Vendredi 21 Août 2009

Even the Politically Correct Swiss Fall Foul of Libyan Authories
Photo of Hannibal Gaddafi, Colonel Gaddafi’s son, courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Libya is to withdraw assets from Swiss banks, estimated at $7bn, as a diplomatic row over the arrest of the Libyan leader's youngest son escalates.

Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife were detained in Geneva for assault in July, but the charges were later dropped.

The state-run news agency Jana also said that Libya was halting oil shipments to Switzerland.

An unnamed foreign ministry official said it was for the "poor treatment of Libyan diplomats and businessmen".

All kinds of economic co-operation with Switzerland are to be stopped until Geneva clarifies its motives, Jana quotes him as saying.

Compensation

The BBC's Rana Jawad in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, says Libya had previously demanded an apology from Swiss authorities for the arrest of Muammar Gaddafi's son. Libya ‘to Pull Swiss Bank Assets’ >>> | October 10, 2008

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