Abdullah Senussi Former head of Libyan intelligence services accused of crimes against humanity Date of Birth: 05.12.1949 Country: Sudan

Abdullah al-Senussi: Former Head of Libyan Intelligence

Abdullah al-Senussi, born on December 5, 1949, in Sudan, is a former head of Libyan intelligence. He was a member of the influential Megarha clan, which was the second most prominent clan in Libya.

In the 1970s, after Muammar Gaddafi came to power in Libya through a coup in 1969, al-Senussi became the head of the country's security service, a position he held throughout the 1980s. He gained a reputation for his brutality, personally beating and humiliating prisoners. He was even referred to as "The Butcher" in the press. Al-Senussi's name was often mentioned in connection with the murders of many of Gaddafi's opponents in the early 1980s. It was reported that he was married to Gaddafi's wife's sister and was part of Gaddafi's inner circle.

By the late 1980s, al-Senussi was leading the foreign intelligence service. He was one of the key figures shaping Libya's anti-American ideology. Libyan authorities were repeatedly accused of involvement in terrorist activities, and according to press reports, al-Senussi was involved in the creation of Libyan terrorist training programs.

One infamous incident linked to al-Senussi was the bombing of an American plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, and the bombing of a French plane over Niger on September 19, 1989. The United States and the United Kingdom accused Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhima, both believed to be Libyan agents, of the Lockerbie bombing. Al-Senussi was also suspected of involvement in the attack. In 1999, a French court sentenced him in absentia to life imprisonment without the possibility of amnesty or appeal for his role in the bombing.

In June 1996, al-Senussi was allegedly responsible for ordering the armed suppression of a prison riot in Abu Salim prison. The uprising ended with the killing of the prisoners shortly after al-Senussi negotiated a ceasefire with them.

In early 2000, al-Senussi was reported to be the head of Libyan military intelligence, although it remained unclear whether he held any official position in Libya.

In 2003, it was revealed that al-Senussi was involved in a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah. American intelligence agencies linked him to the conspiracy.

In February 2011, mass protests against Gaddafi's regime began in Benghazi, in eastern Libya. Al-Senussi actively participated in the government's efforts to suppress the uprising, personally ordering troops to open fire on peaceful protesters. However, the eastern part of the country soon came under rebel control, and a civil war erupted in Libya. NATO forces supported the rebels in March, and by August, Gaddafi's opponents had taken the capital city. Gaddafi himself was killed on October 20, 2011, in his hometown of Sirte. Due to his involvement in the brutal suppression of the uprising, al-Senussi faced international sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council in February 2011. The Obama administration also froze his assets in March of that year. In June 2011, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity during the attempted suppression of the uprising in Benghazi.

In October 2011, reports emerged that al-Senussi had fled to Mali via Niger. In November of the same year, the new Libyan government officially announced that al-Senussi had been captured near his sister's house in southern Libya, but this information was later denied.

On March 17, 2012, al-Senussi was arrested at the airport in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, after arriving from Casablanca, Morocco, using a fake Malian passport. It was reported that his arrest was the result of a joint French-Mauritanian operation. In the same month, Mauritania received extradition requests for al-Senussi from Libya, France, and the International Criminal Court. In August 2012, almost five months after his arrest, Mauritanian authorities announced that they would only consider extradition after trying al-Senussi for illegal entry into the country.