Cairo court stops extradition of top Gaddafi aide

Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, a relative of the late Libyan dictator, to be be tried in Egypt

Former Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi gestures with a green cane as he takes his seat behind bulletproof glass for a military parade in Green Square, Tripoli, Libya in 2009 (photo credit: AP/Ben Curtis)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s state news agency says an Egyptian court has ruled against the extradition to Libya of a former close aide of ousted dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, a relative of Gaddafi who for decades coordinated relations between the Libyan and Egyptian regimes, had contested a Libyan request to extradite him following his arrest last month in his Cairo home.

Two other Libyan officials arrested alongside him have already been sent back to Libya.

Libyan authorities sought the men for alleged corruption and roles in Libya’s eight-month civil war that ended with Gaddafi’s death in 2011. Libya has already asked Egypt to handover around 100 other former regime officials.

The news agency said Egypt’s Administrative Court suspended Wednesday the extradition procedures, saying al-Dam should be tried in Egypt.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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