Mauritania Will Not Extradite al-Senussi to Libya

In my previous post, I noted that Libya’s admissibility challenge should fail regarding Saif Gaddafi because the government cannot demonstrate that it is able to obtain him from the Zintan militia that is holding him.  It’s now clear that the Libyan government has even less chance of obtaining al-Senussi:

Mauritania’s president has said former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi must be tried there before being extradited.

President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said Mr Senussi, who fled after last year’s uprising, must first face charges of illegal entry into Mauritania.

Libya is seeking to try Mr Senussi for crimes committed during his time as Muammar Gaddafi’s right-hand man.

He is also wanted by France and the International Criminal Court.

Mr Senussi was held at Nouakchott airport after flying in from Morocco in March, five months after the capture and death of Gaddafi.

Two months later he was charged for illegally entering the country and for the use of forged documents, judicial officials at the time said.

“Senussi has problems with Mauritania’s judiciary and has to face court for entering Mauritania under a false identity,” President Abdel Aziz said overnight on Sunday in the town of Atar.

“The passport Senussi used to enter Mauritania was not falsified but it presents him as Malian and under a fake name, which is why he must undergo trial in Mauritania,” Mr Abdel Aziz said, according to AFP news agency.

He said the Mauritanian stance had already been made clear to Libyan and French officials.

If you’re scoring at home, it looks like Libya is going to be 0-2 with its admissibility challenges.