Baghdadi Mahmoudi's solicitors request release from Tunisian authorities

The defence of former Libyan PM Baghdadi Mahmoudi requested from the Tunisian authorities to release him pending the November 22, 2011, examination of the Libyan authorities' request for his extradition. Four lawyers of Mahmoudi's defence, which numbers about fifty, pointed out in a meeting with the press on Monday, in Tunis, that the defendant is wanted by the Libyan authorities for political reasons. In this connection, they asserted that they are opposed to his extradition "because they fear for his life in Libya," in the absence of appropriate conditions for a fair trial and respect of human rights. Mr. Mabrouk Krichiid, one of the defendant's solicitors, said that the new Libyan authorities' "file is not well-grounded for the extradition request." The Tunis Court of Appeal had decided, last Thursday, to examine the Libyan National Transition Council's extradition request and postponed the hearing for November 22, 2011. Baghdadi Mahmoudi had been arrested on September 22, 2011, in company of two Libyan nationals, near the town of Tamaghza on the Tunisian-Algerian border. They were attempting to flee to Algeria.