Abu Anas al-Libi

Al-Libi was believed to have been tied to al-Qaeda since its 1994 roots in Sudan. In 1995, al-Libi was granted political asylum in the United Kingdom, after a failed Al-Qaeda plot to assassinate Hosni Mubarak, then president of Egypt. An Egyptian request for extradition was declined on the grounds that al-Libi would not receive a fair trial. In 1996, MI6 allegedly paid a Libyan Al-Qaeda cell to kill Colonel Gaddafi. Al-Libi would have been allowed to stay in return for aiding the alleged plot, which was unsuccessful.

In 1999, al-Libi was arrested by Scotland Yard and interrogated. However, he was released because he had cleared his hard drive and no evidence could be found to hold him. He evaded a team that was sent to follow him and fled to Afghanistan. His flat in Manchester, where he was a student, was searched by police, who discovered a 180-page handwritten manual, translated from Arabic to English, which became known as the Manchester Manual.{{cite news|last=Gardham|first=David|title=CIA 'used Manchester manual to justify water boarding'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8833109/CIA-used-Manchester-manual-to-justify-water-boarding.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 October 2011|location=London}}

Al-Libi spoke Arabic and English. He had a scar on the left side of his face.{{cite web|title=Most wanted list web page for Anas Al-Liby |work=FBI |url=https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism/terrorism-main-portlet/wanted/wanted_terrorists/anas-al-liby |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831152513/http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism/terrorism-main-portlet/wanted/wanted_terrorists/anas-al-liby |archive-date=31 August 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy }} Because he was tall and bore a passing resemblance to Osama bin Laden, he was often used as a decoy when Bin Laden traveled.{{cite book|last=Ressa|first=Maria|title=Seeds of Terror|year=2003|location=New York|publisher=Free Press|isbn=0-7432-5133-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/seedsofterroreye00ress/page/165 165]|url=https://archive.org/details/seedsofterroreye00ress/page/165}}

In January 2002, news reports stated that al-Libi had been captured by American forces in Afghanistan.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1717297.stm |title=Who's who in al-Qaeda|work=BBC News|date=19 February 2003|access-date=9 October 2013}} In March 2002, it was reported that he had been arrested by the Sudanese government and was being held in a prison in Khartoum.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1881397.stm Top al-Qaeda man 'held in Sudan'], BBC News, 19 March 2002 U.S. officials soon denied those reports[http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=105001796 I'm Not the Man You're Looking For], Wall Street Journal, James Taranto, 20 March 2002 and al-Libi was still sought.

Al-Libi had been on the USA's list of Most Wanted Terrorists since its inception on 10 October 2001. The United States Department of State, through the Rewards for Justice Program, offered up to US$5,000,000 (formerly $25,000,000) for information about the location of Abu Anas al-Libi.[http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/wanted_captured/index.cfm?page=Al_Liby Wanted Poster on al-Liby (English)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905125917/http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/wanted_captured/index.cfm?page=Al_Liby |date=5 September 2006 }}, Rewards for Justice

In February 2007, a Human Rights Watch document claimed that al-Libi and others "may have once been held" in secret detention by the CIA.[http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us0207/us0207web.pdf Ghost Prisoner], Human Rights Watch, February 2007

On 7 June 2007, al-Libi, who remained on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list, was listed as a possible CIA "secret prisoner" by Amnesty International, without providing details or evidence.[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr51/093/2007/en/ USA: Off the Record. U.S. Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in the "War on Terror"] Amnesty International, 7 June 2007

In September 2012, CNN reported that al-Libi returned to Libya after being imprisoned in Iran for seven years.{{cite news|url=http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/27/exclusive-senior-al-qaeda-figure-living-in-libyan-capital/|title=EXCLUSIVE: Senior al Qaeda figure 'living in Libyan capital'|agency=CNN|date=27 September 2012|access-date=17 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028131543/http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/27/exclusive-senior-al-qaeda-figure-living-in-libyan-capital/|archive-date=28 October 2013|url-status=dead}}

{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/10362374/Al-Qaeda-leader-seized-in-Libya-was-innocent-pizza-restaurant-worker-in-Britain-son-says.html|location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Richard|last=Spencer|title=Al-Qaeda leader seized in Libya was innocent pizza restaurant worker in Britain, son says |date=7 October 2013|access-date=7 October 2013}}

File:USS San Antonio sails by USS Kearsarge. (8591437943).jpg

Al-Libi was captured in Tripoli, Libya, on 5 October 2013 by U.S. Army Delta Force operators, with the assistance of FBI agents and CIA officers. He was seized in a pre-dawn raid and removed from Libya. The US Navy's DEVGRU conducted a simultaneous raid in Somalia targeting the alleged mastermind of the Westgate shopping mall attack in Kenya, possibly to avoid either action sending the other target into hiding.{{cite news|title=Man Sought In '98 Attacks on Embassies Is Seized|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/footage-shows-the-58-tense-seconds-it-takes-us-commandos-to-abduct-a-libyan-alqaeda-operative/story-fnh81ifq-1226823368009?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes|work=The New York Times|access-date=5 October 2013|archive-date=21 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321075907/http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/footage-shows-the-58-tense-seconds-it-takes-us-commandos-to-abduct-a-libyan-alqaeda-operative/story-fnh81ifq-1226823368009?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Embassy bombings figure nabbed by Delta Force in Libya|agency=CBS News|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57606209/embassy-bombings-figure-nabbed-by-u.s-forces-in-libya/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007090728/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57606209/embassy-bombings-figure-nabbed-by-u.s-forces-in-libya/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 October 2013}}{{cite news|author=David D. Kirkpatrick|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/alliby-capture-a-long-wait-for-us/article5207084.ece|title=Al-Libi capture, a long wait for U.S. |work=The Hindu|date=6 October 2013|access-date=9 October 2013|location=Chennai, India}} A day after Al-Libi was captured, he was in military custody on the ship USS San Antonio in the Mediterranean Sea.{{cite news|title=U.S. Said to Hold Qaeda Suspect on Navy Ship|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/world/africa/a-terrorism-suspect-long-known-to-prosecutors.html?emc=edit_na_20131006&_r=0|work=The New York Times|first1=Benjamin|last1=Weiser|first2=Eric|last2=Schmitt|date=6 October 2013|access-date=7 October 2013}} On 10 February 2014, a 30 seconds CCTV video showing U.S. commandos capturing al-Libi was published by The Washington Post.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/10/world/meast/anas-al-libi-capture-video/|agency=CNN|title=Taken in 30 seconds: Video shows U.S. capture of suspect Anas al-Libi|date=11 February 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-capture-of-terror-suspect-allibi-seen-in-rare-video/ |title=U.S. capture of terror suspect al-Libi seen in rare video|first=David|last=Martin|agency=CBS News|date=10 February 2014|publisher=CBS|location=New York|access-date=19 June 2014}} According to strategist and counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen, the collapse of Ali Zeidan's government and the ensuing "fragmentation of Libya [...] resulted, in part, from the raid al-Libi's capture".D. Kilcullen, Blood year: terror and the Islamic State, Quarterly Essay 58 (2015), p.78 ISSN 1832-0953.{{Explain|date=February 2025}}

On 15 October 2013, al-Libi appeared in a Manhattan federal court and pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges, including helping to plan the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.{{cite news|title=Abu Anas al Libi, al Qaeda suspect nabbed in Libya, pleads not guilty to terrorism charges|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57607598/abu-anas-al-liby-al-qaeda-suspect-nabbed-in-libya-pleads-not-guilty-to-terrorism-charges/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015210229/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57607598/abu-anas-al-liby-al-qaeda-suspect-nabbed-in-libya-pleads-not-guilty-to-terrorism-charges/|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 October 2013|work=CBS News|access-date=16 October 2013}} He was held without bail due to concerns that he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.{{cite news|last=Feyerick|first=Deborah|title=Alleged al Qaeda operative Abu Anas al Libi pleads not guilty|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/15/justice/al-libi-case/index.html?iref=allsearch|agency=CNN|access-date=16 October 2013|date=16 October 2013}} His trial, along with his co-defendant Khalid al-Fawwaz, a.k.a. "Khaled Abdul Rahman Hamad al Fawwaz," a.k.a. "Abu Omar," a.k.a. "Hamad," was scheduled to begin on 3 November 2014, before Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.

He was scheduled to stand trial in New York on 12 January 2015.{{cite news|author=Benjamin Weiser and Michael S. Schmidt|title=Qaeda Suspect Facing Trial in New York Over Africa Embassy Bombings Dies|quote=The man, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, 50, who had liver cancer, was taken to a hospital on Wednesday from the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was being held pending a trial that was to begin in Manhattan a week from Monday.|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 January 2015|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/us/politics/qaeda-suspect-facing-trial-in-new-york-dies-in-custody.html|access-date=3 January 2015}}{{cite news|author=Kevin Johnson|title=Accused plotter of U.S. Embassy bombings dies in N.Y.|quote=His trial had been set to start Jan. 12.|newspaper=USA Today|date=3 January 2015| url =https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/03/embassy-bombings-suspect-dies-al-libi/21224685/|access-date=3 January 2015}}

Abu Anas Al-Libi died on 2 January 2015 at a hospital in New York, aged 50, while in the United States custody.{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/03/us/us-libya-al-libi/index.html |title=Alleged al Qaeda operative Abu Anas al Libi dies in U.S. hospital, family says |first=Jomana |last=Karadsheh |date=3 January 2015 |access-date=28 May 2019 |work=CNN |publisher=Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.}} He reportedly had liver disease as a result of hepatitis C, and liver cancer.{{cite news|author=Jonathan Dienst and Robert Windrem| title =Suspected Plotter of U.S. Embassy Attacks Abu Anas Al-Liby Dies|work=NBC News|date=3 January 2015|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/suspected-plotter-u-s-embassy-attacks-abu-anas-al-liby-n278866|access-date=3 January 2015}} Upon his death his wife said "I accuse the American government of kidnapping, mistreating, and killing an innocent man. He did nothing."{{cite news|author=Maggie Michael |title=Libyan Charged in 1998 US Embassy Bombings Dies |agency=Associated Press |date=3 January 2015 |url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EMBASSY_BOMBINGS_AL_LIBI?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-03-08-49-57 |access-date=3 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104033251/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EMBASSY_BOMBINGS_AL_LIBI?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-03-08-49-57 |archive-date=4 January 2015 }}

Al-Libi was married and the father of four boys.{{cite news|title=Libyan accused in 1998 US embassy bombings dies before trial|publisher=Al Jazeera America|date=3 January 2015| url =http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/3/allibi-embassy-bombing.html|access-date=3 January 2015}}{{cite news|author=Chris Stephen|title=Son of Abu Anas al-Liby describes capture of al-Qaida suspect in Libya|newspaper=The Guardian|date=8 October 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/07/son-al-qaida-suspect-libya|access-date=3 January 2015}} He was believed to have been connected to Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi, the perpetrator of the Manchester Arena bombing.{{cite web |author=Chris Osuh |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/salman-abedi-manchester-arena-bomber-13601393 |title=The making of a monster: How Manchester boy Salman Abedi became a mass murderer |website=Manchester Evening News |date=17 September 2017 }}

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{{cite news|url=https://www.justice.gov/nsd/pr/international-terrorism-defendant-pleads-guilty-manhattan-federal-court |title=International Terrorism Defendant Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=19 September 2014 |location=Washington D.C. |access-date=5 January 2015 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006112251/http://www.justice.gov/nsd/pr/international-terrorism-defendant-pleads-guilty-manhattan-federal-court |quote=Two co-defendants, Khalid al Fawwaz, a.k.a. "Khaled Abdul Rahman Hamad al Fawwaz," a.k.a. "Abu Omar," a.k.a. "Hamad," and Anas al Liby, a.k.a. "Nazih al Raghie," a.k.a. "Anas al Sebai," are scheduled to commence trial on Nov. 3, 2014, before Judge Kaplan. The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. |df=dmy }}

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• {{cite news

|url=http://fox4kc.com/2013/10/07/after-interrogation-on-warship-al-libis-next-stop-could-be-u-s-court/

|title=After interrogation on warship, al Libi's next stop could be U.S. court

|publisher=Fox4KC

|author=Andrew Lynch

|date=7 October 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008034802/http://fox4kc.com/2013/10/07/after-interrogation-on-warship-al-libis-next-stop-could-be-u-s-court/

|archive-date=8 October 2013

|access-date=9 February 2014

|url-status=live

|quote=But Forest questioned how much valuable intelligence al Libi would be able to provide his captors. A former jihadist associate told CNN it was unlikely al Libi was still playing an active role with the terrorist network, and his wife said he had been living a normal life and was seeking a job with the Libyan oil ministry.

|df=dmy

}}

{{Al-Qaeda}}

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Category:1964 births

Category:1998 United States embassy bombings

Category:2015 deaths

Category:Al-Qaeda leaders

Category:Deaths from hepatitis

Category:Deaths from liver cancer in New York (state)

Category:FBI Most Wanted Terrorists

Category:Libyan al-Qaeda members

Category:Libyan extrajudicial prisoners of the United States

Category:People designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee

Category:People from Tripoli, Libya

Category:Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention

Category:Libyan people imprisoned in the United States