The Niger government on Saturday said Libya’s new rulers were welcome to question former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s son, Al-Saadi, who has taken refuge in the West African nation, but it was unlikely that he would be extradited to Libya any time soon.
Niger Justice Minister Marou Amadou, who is also the government spokesperson, said on Niger national television late on Saturday that Al-Saadi could be questioned under an existing cooperation agreement between Tripoli and Niamey.
“If it is to question Saadi, the National Transitional Council [NTC], which we have recognized, can freely come to Niger, under the existing accord,” Amadou said.
“However, I reaffirm that at this stage ... there is no possibility of extraditing Saadi, because ultimately what needs to be applied is international conventions,” he added.
Al-Saadi Qaddafi’s exact whereabouts in Niamey have not been disclosed.
The international police agency Interpol issued an alert on Thursday calling for the arrest of a second son of the ousted Libyan leader, putting pressure on Niger to detain Al-Saadi Qaddafi, who fled to the country three weeks ago.
Interpol said it had also issued an alert for Al-Saadi Qaddafi, who is accused of leading military units responsible for crackdowns on protests and of misappropriating property.
Niger has maintained that it does not want to extradite Al-Saadi Qaddafi to a country where he would not be given a fair trial and risked the death penalty.
However, current international laws would permit his extradition to any independent international court or democratic country, Amadou said.
Niger was for years propped up by the oil-fueled largesse of Muammar Qaddafi in everything from agriculture to tourism, but also distrusted the Libyan strongman and at times suspected his hand behind its troubles in the north.
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