Lebanese Delegation Hands Letter from Berri to Libya over Sadr Case

A Lebanese delegation on Sunday delivered a letter from Speaker Nabih Berri to his Libyan counterpart Nouri Abusahmain, in which the Lebanese leader called for “activating cooperation in the case of the abduction of Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions.”

The delegation, which was led by Liberation and Development bloc MP Ayyoub Hmayyed, met in the Libyan capital with Abusahmain and a number of ministers and top officials, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

The conferees agreed on “means and mechanisms that contribute to expediting efforts that serve the case, and that might lead to the liberation of Imam al-Sadr and his companions,” NNA said.

The Lebanese side stressed “the need to broaden the questioning of the arrested members of the ousted (Libyan) regime and to pursue those of them who have fled.”

It sensed “utmost appreciation and responsiveness from the Libyan side, which emphasized that the abduction crime had brought shame to Libya and that the deeds of (slain Libyan leader) Moammar Gadhafi and his aides cannot be forgotten,” NNA said.

In March 2013, a source revealed that Gadhafi's former spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi had confessed that al-Sadr was not hanged right after Gadhafi’s order in late August 1978.

“Al-Sadr was held captive for two or three years at the headquarters of the Libyan military intelligence along with his two companions,” the source said quoting Senussi.

It added: “He was later handed over to a defected group led by Palestinian national Sabri al-Banna who executed the death penalty order.”

“Al-Sadr was buried at the same location where this group resided.”

Senussi reportedly told interrogators that Gadhafi “felt a pressure to hang the Lebanese cleric after campaigns accused him of hiding al-Sadr.”

Al-Sadr was invited to Tripoli by Gadhafi and was trying to negotiate an end to the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), in which Palestinian factions were involved.

Gadhafi was believed to be shipping weapons to the Palestinians and other groups and Sadr, according to reports, was hoping to convince the Libyan leader to refrain from stoking the unrest in Lebanon.

But his visit to Tripoli along with his two aides took a sour turn after he got into a heated argument with Gadhafi who ordered that the three men be "taken away," according to an indictment against the slain Libyan leader issued by Lebanese authorities.

Gadhafi’s regime had stated that the three left Tripoli for Italy, which after conducting an investigation into the case denied the claims.

In 2004, the passports of Sadr and his companion Sheikh Mohammed Yacoub were found in a hotel in Rome.

In August 2008, Lebanon issued arrest warrants against Gadhafi and some of his aides, accusing them of kidnapping Sadr and his companions.