Shalgam: “I Beg Bouteflika Not to Save Criminal Al-Baghdadi”

Former Representative of Libya at the UN, Abdel Rahman Shalgam has called upon President Abdelaziz Bouteflika not to help the PM in the Gaddafi regime, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, who begged Algerian authorities to prevent handing him over by Tunisia to Libya.

Mr Shalgam told Echorouk reporter that “President Bouteflika has a long experience in diplomacy and is aware of different laws and treaties related to the handing over of criminals in the frame of bilateral conventions between nations.”

He added: “Well, I’m sure Mr Bouteflika won’t listen to al Mahmoudi whose hands are tarnished with many crimes.”

In this regard, Mr Shalgam said that “al-Mahmoudi had tried to burn me and my family members when I declared giving up representing Gaddafi regime in the UN at the very beginning outbreak of the revolution.”

Al Mahmoudi has sent an SOS message to Mr Bouteflika and pleaded him to intervene against his extradition to Libya because he fears for his life there.

“Considering that I’m a civilian who served Libya, I call you to intervene on my favour to the Tunisian authorities as to prevent handing me over to the National Transitional Council, because I fear for my life and that of my family.”

In this regard, Mr Shalgam said al-Baghdadi’s letter contains “misleading propitiations,” “because he’s not civilian, but rather a criminal who perpetuated many crimes under orders of Gaddafi.”

The NTC official further called on Mr Bouteflika to hand over the family members of al-Mahmoudi who took refuge in the North African nation “in order to be tried for crimes they committed against the Libyan people.”

Al-Mahmoudi was arrested September 21st on Tunisia’s south-western border with Algeria. Despite a provisional release granted last week by a Tunisian court, al-Mahmoudi was ordered held behind bars until the November 22nd hearing on Libya’s second extradition request.