Abdullah al-Senussi, has been arrested in Mauritania, ending the search for one of the last significant members of the Libyan regime still at large.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, has been arrested in Mauritania, ending the search for one of the last significant members of the Libyan regime still at large.
Mr Senussi, nicknamed "The Butcher" for his violent repression of dissent, was Col Gaddafi's brother-in-law and one of his closest aides. He was reported to have recruited Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
He fled Libya when Col Gaddafi was ousted in August last year, and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity. Libya confirmed yesterday (Saturday) that Mr Senussi had been arrested at the airport of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, after flying in from Casablanca in Morocco.
"He was arrested on Saturday morning in Nouakchott airport and there was a young man with him. We think it is his son," said Nasser al-Manee, spokesman for the government.
The Libyan government has asked Mauritania to hand him over for questioning, while President Nicolas Sarkozy said that France would also seek his extradition. He was convicted in absentia in 1999 of the bombing of a French passenger plane over Niger in 1989.
A statement from Paris said that Mr Senussi's arrest was "the result of joint efforts by the French and Mauritanian authorities, of which the Libyan authorities were kept informed".
Elizabeth Evenson, senior international justice counsel for Human Rights Watch, described his arrest as "hugely significant" and called for Mr Senuss to be handed over to the ICC.
"He is accused of very serious crimes, and has a long history of human rights abuses," she said. "The best way for the Libyan people to obtain justice is if he is swiftly transferred to the ICC in The Hague."
Intelligence sources are hoping that Mr Senussi will be able to provide the most detailed insight yet into the workings of the Gaddafi regime.
The Sudanese-born official was known for being a key confidant of the late dictator, and was one of "ahl al-Khaimah" (people of the tent) - Gaddafi's closest entourage. US cables released by Wiki-Leaks also said he was in charge of Col Gaddafi's medical arrangements - a role, that the paranoid Libyan leader would entrust to only his most reliable lieutenants.
Mr Senussi, 62, had a long-standing reputation for brutality. During the 1980s he was head of internal security, at a time when many of Gaddafi's opponents were killed.
Libyans also hold him responsible for the massacre of 1,200 inmates at the Abu Salim prison in 1996. Former prisoners have told Human Rights Watch that when prisoners staged a revolt to complain about poor prison conditions, Mr Senussi came to negotiate and promised them safe treatment if they returned to their cells. The prisoners did so but were then shot and killed by security forces
When the Libyan uprising broke out a year ago, Mr Senussi was believed to have played a key role in organising the defence of the regime. In February, when the revolt in Benghazi was met with ruthless violence, it was again Mr Senussi who was blamed.
The ICC issued his arrest warrant in June - alongside those for Col Gaddafi and his son, Saif Al-Islam, who is being held in Zintan, having been detained in November.
Col Gaddafi was killed in October, but is survived by his wife Safia, daughter Aisha, and sons Hannibal and Mohammed - who all fled to Algeria.
His son Saadi, who commanded Libya's Special Forces, is in Niger, although the Libyan authorities are seeking his extradition.
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