Gaddafi's PM Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi is extradited

Tunisia has extradited to Libya the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi's Prime Minister. Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi is the first senior official to be sent back for trial under the transitional Libyan leadership.

Mahmoudi was transferred by helicopter yesterday and was in jail last night. He served as Gaddafi's Prime Minister from 2006 until he fled to neighbouring Tunisia at about the time rebel fighters seized the capital, Tripoli, in August.

His extradition could establish a precedent for other countries which have given refuge to or arrested members of Gaddafi's entourage. Tripoli considers it a measure of the country's transformation that trials of people like Mahmoudi and Gaddafi's imprisoned son, Saif al-Islam, will be held in Libya. But human rights groups question whether its justice system can meet the standards of international law and say he should be handed over to the International Criminal Court.

A Tunisian court said in November that Mahmoudi should be extradited but President Moncef al-Marzouki overruled the handover until the situation in Libya stabilised.

REUTERS