Latest news with #Libyan-Tunisian
Libya Review
2 days ago
- Libya Review
Lockerbie Trial for Libyan Bombing Suspect Delayed to April 2026
The trial of Abu Ajila Masoud, the Libyan man accused of making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, has been postponed until April 2026. The decision was made jointly by the prosecution and defence, citing the defendant's health and the case's complex international nature. Masoud, who is in his early seventies and holds dual Libyan-Tunisian citizenship, was expected to appear before a US jury in Washington last month. However, the proceedings were delayed due to his non-life-threatening medical condition and the intricate legal and evidentiary issues surrounding the case. Masoud has pleaded not guilty to charges of constructing the explosive device that caused the death of 270 people, including 259 on board and 11 residents of Lockerbie in Scotland. The incident remains the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history. US prosecutors allege that Masoud, while jailed in Libya in 2012, confessed to working for Libyan intelligence and admitted to assembling the bomb. He also allegedly named two accomplices: Abdelbasset Al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah. Megrahi was convicted in 2001 and released in 2009 on compassionate grounds before dying in 2012. Fhimah was acquitted. Both US and Scottish prosecutors identified Masoud as a suspect in 2015, following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime. He was formally charged in 2020 and taken into US custody in 2022 after being seized from his home by an armed Libyan militia. Lawyers have requested early deadlines for legal motions, including efforts to suppress Masud's alleged confession. The US District Court for the District of Columbia acknowledged that the pre-trial schedule would be non-standard due to the international scope of the case. Masoud remains in US custody pending trial. Tags: Abu Ajila MasoudlibyaLockerbieus
Libya Herald
08-05-2025
- Business
- Libya Herald
LEPC amends 2025 MoU executive programme with Tunisia to increase exports to sub-Saharan Africa
The executive programme for 2025 of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Libya Export Promotion Centre (LEPC) and the Tunisian Export Promotion Centre (Centre de Promotion des Exportations (CEPEX) was reviewed, and some amendments were made and approved last Wednesday 7 May. The action was taken during the meeting on 7 May in Tunisia between Tunisian Minister of Trade and Export Development, Samir Obaid, with Mohamed Al-Hangari, Director General of the LEPC, Mourad Ben Hussein, President and Director General of the CEPEX, and the Commercial Attaché at the Libyan Embassy in Tunisia, Youssef Tantoush, in the presence of the directors of departments and offices of the two centers. Supporting exports to the African market The meeting discussed strengthening the mechanisms of cooperation between the two countries in supporting exports to the African market, and during the meeting, many steps were put forward that can be worked on during the rest of this year to ''head to Africa, take a place for Libyan-Tunisian products in it, and open the door for export through COMESA''. MoU amended and resigned The executive programme for 2025 of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two centers was reviewed, and some amendments were made and approved by the directors of the two centers in line with the LEPC's strategy adopted by the Director General in supporting exporters and the needs of Tunisia and Libya to actually enter the African market.
Zawya
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Concrete steps agreed as part of border security coordination between military and security institutions in Libya
Representatives of the military and security institutions in the East and West, including two military and police female officers, responsible for border security, counterterrorism and addressing irregular migration agreed on Wednesday 26 February to form a specialized study center tasked with conducting specialized studies on border security areas. Members of the Joint Technical Coordination Team (JTCT) for Border Security participated in a two-day coordination meeting, facilitated by UNSMIL in Tunis. The JTCT developed a proposal of a studies center which provides an analysis of the risks around border security, that provides practical solutions which can be applied on the ground, identified the duties and tasks of the centre and its organizational structure. The studies centre will contribute significantly to strengthening border security and combating terrorism, and addressing irregular immigration, said one of the participants, adding that it would help develop implementable solutions to border security issues and support strengthening Libyan national security. At the request of the JTCT, UNSMIL facilitated a field visit to one of the Tunisian land border centers near the Libyan-Tunisian border to enhance experience sharing and awareness of regional cross-border security challenges. "The establishment of the studies center comes as part of the joint coordination mechanism approved by the JTCT for Border Security at Benghazi meeting on 17 and 18 December 2024,' said Ali Kilkal, from UNSMIL's Security Institutions Service. Kilkal stressed that the next step would be to physically establish the border security joint centers and to start equipping them, to enable coordination, communication and information exchange on border security. They decided to reconvene in April in southern Libya to discuss the regional coordination mechanism. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
