Mansour Daw, the former Commander of the People’s Guard and a prominent figure in the Gaddafi regime has been released from a Tripoli prison, after close to 12 years of imprisonment.
In December, Daw received a health pardon, according to an order by the Libyan Minister of Justice, Halima Abdel-Rahman of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The Libyan Military Prosecutor’s Office said Abdel-Rahman ordered the release of Daw, who had previously been sentenced to death by a civil court in Misrata on health grounds. He was imprisoned in a military prison, as a military convict.
Daw held the rank of Brigadier General, and remained with Gaddafi until they were both captured on 20 October 2011. Since then he has been awaiting execution on charges of suppressing the protesters of the 17 February Revolution. He was also the Internal Security Chief during the Gaddafi regime.
After his arrest in Sirte, he was subjected to physical abuse. Daw denied any connection to the suppression of the protests.
The Military Prosecutor added that the order for his release was referred to the Director of the Military Police Department.
Over the past years, many tribal leaders have called for the release of remnants of the Gaddafi regime, in Tripoli and Misrata. These demands are always rejected by militia leaders.
Notably, a former Libyan intelligence operative pleaded not guilty to assembling the explosives used in the 1988 bombing of flight Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 270 people were killed in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in US history, according to Washington Post.
Abu Ajila Masoud, 71, entered his plea in federal court in Washington, on Wednesday. This follows his extradition in December by one of Libya’s rival factional governments.
“At this time your honour we would enter a plea of not guilty,” said Whitney Minter, a US federal public defender.
US authorities said they would seek Masoud’s continued detention pending trial at a bond hearing on 23 February, if his defence sought to argue for his conditional release. He possibly faces two counts, including the destruction of an aircraft resulting in death, punishable upon conviction by up to life in prison.
The US Justice Department has alleged that Masoud confessed his crimes to a Libyan law enforcement official, in September 2012.
It took many years for the FBI to piece together enough evidence, before he could be apprehended and extradited to the United States.
