The UK has apologized to the ex-militant leader for the involvement of members of Britain’s intelligence apparatus in his rendition in 2004, the Reuters news agency reported today.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May apologized on behalf of the British government to both Mr. Hakim Belhadj and his wife via a letter, made public on Thursday.
“The UK government believes your accounts. Neither of you should have been treated in this way. The UK government’s actions contributed to your detention, rendition and suffering… On behalf of Her Majesty’s Government, I apologize unreservedly,” PM May wrote in a letter released to the public on May 10.
US Agents from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) led the rendition, but received support from British spies as they illegally transported the couple to Tripoli.
The couple legally challenged the UK’s former foreign affairs minister, numerous government ministries, and a senior British intelligence official, as part of their effort to obtain an apology and “symbolic damages.”
A ruling by the Supreme Court in 2017 granted the two Libyan nationals the right to sue the British government.
All of their claims have now been withdrawn as part of a “full and final out-of-court settlement,” Attorney General Jeremy Wright told parliament.
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