Sami al Saadi

Sami al Saadi, an opponent of the Gaddafi regime, was rendered along with his family into the hands of the former Libyan Government by British intelligence in 2004. He is now taking action against the UK over their role in his rendition to Gaddafi's torture chambers.

Sami al Saadi (also known as Abu Munthir) says he feels compelled to act to ensure that the truth is known, and to prevent others from suffering as he and his family have suffered. He has described how, during their rendition, he saw his young daughter lose consciousness and his wife “screaming as they were handcuffed”; upon reaching Libya he was separated from his family and imprisoned. His children were aged 13, 11, 9 and 6 years old at the time.
 
Documents discovered after the overthrow of Gaddafi show that British personnel were instrumental in the detention of Sami Al Saadi in Hong Kong and his subsequent rendition to Libya in 2004, where he was subjected to years of torture. The documents also support Mr Al Saadi’s claim that UK agents interrogated him whilst he was in secret detention in Libya.
 
Since coming to light, Mr Al Saadi’s case has become notorious. It is one of few known examples of the rendition of an entire family, including young children, to a country where British intelligence must have known they would face torture.
 
It is also significant in showing UK officials not simply assisting but actively organising an illegal rendition. A March 2004 fax from the CIA to Libyan intelligence confirms that Libyans were “cooperating with the British to effect Abu Munthir’s removal to Tripoli”.

Mr Al Saadi has instructed London law firm Leigh Day & Co to bring a claim against MI5, MI6, the Attorney General, the Foreign Office and the Home Office for their alleged complicity in his extraordinary rendition from Hong Kong to Tripoli in March 2004; and his subsequent unlawful detention, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, batteries and assaults perpetrated by the Libyan authorities.