Tripoli, 28 February 2013- UNSMIL representatives visited Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi, former Prime Minister under the Qadhafi regime, at his place of detention, the Correction and Rehabilitation center at al-Hadba in Tripoli today. The visit was in response to allegations attributed to a Tunisian lawyer in media reports yesterday that Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi had been tortured and was in “critical condition.”

UNSMIL’s visit was facilitated by the Minister of Justice personally as a matter of high priority. While most of the visit took place in the presence of the prison director, UNSMIL had the opportunity to talk to him privately for some time and asked whether he was mistreated. He unequivocally said he was not.

Al- Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi appeared in decent physical and psychological condition and his general demeanor was relaxed. He stated that he is being treated well, and although he suffers from various medical conditions, he has adequate access to medical care.

He said he is being represented by a team consisting fully of Libyan lawyers and denied having any non-Libyan lawyers on his legal team. He expressed his wish to have more access to his lawyers and that they should be granted more access to the prosecution file against him. He said he has received some family visits, but not by his wife and children who are outside the country.

UNSMIL continues to monitor the conditions of detentions in Libya, in accordance with its mandate, to raise any allegations of torture or mistreatment with the Libyan authorities, and to provide advice and guidance on addressing these issues.