Israeli lawyer defends Gaddafi family members in ICC

Israeli sources stated that Israeli legal attorney Nick Kaufman, who has ended his work in public prosecution a year and a half ago, is in charge of defending Aisha and Saadi Gaddafi in the ICC, speaking on their behalf in many international forums. Kaufman told Haaretz that he met Saadi Gaddafi last October, through a Canadian mediator, explaining that as soon as he was introduced to him, he asked if being an Israeli constitutes any problem for him, and Saadi said no. The Israeli attorney confirmed that Saadi has recently obtained political asylum in Niger, with restrictions on his activity and transportation. Kaufman stated that he addressed the ICC, on behalf of Aisha Gaddafi who is currently in Algeria, demanding the investigation in the murder of the Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mutassim. The Algerian government decided to deport Aisha Gaddafi to South Africa next month, after Kurdistan, Venezuela, and Mexico all refused to receive her. It has been agreed that Aisha and her siblings and mother will be deported to South Africa as well, as of January at most, as Algeria does not want to be involved in handing them over after the issuance of Libyan judicial memos of their arrest. Algerian sources stated that the authorities decided to deport Gaddafi’s daughter due to her lack of respect for the rules of political asylum, and  making public statements against the Libyan revolution, in addition to her not committing to the instructions issued by the Algerian authorities compelling her to remain silent, which put Algeria in an awkward position. Negotiations led by Algeria to guarantee the residency of Gaddafi family members in other countries – currently seeking asylum in Algeria – could not convince Iraq to receive them in Kurdistan. At the same time, no country in the Arab gulf or in South America agreed to receive them either. Venezuela, for instance, refused to welcome any Gaddafi family member, due to the presence of a significant Lebanese community in Caracas, most of which accuse Muammar Gaddafi of killing Mousa Sadr. Mexico also refused to receive them; however, Mexican security has revealed plans to transfer Saadi Gaddafi, who is now in Niger, to its territories with forged documents.