Tayeb El-Safi
{{Short description|Libyan political operative (born 1954)}}
Tayeb el-Safi ({{langx|ar|الطيب الصافي}}; born 1954) is a Libyan political operative. He briefly served as Minister of Economy & Trade and was one of the closest aides of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during the Libyan Civil War.{{Cite web |title=Tayeb El Safi: Gaddafi’s right-hand man |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2012/5/11/tayeb-el-safi-gaddafis-right-hand-man |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2011-09-06 |title=Special report: The secret plan to take Tripoli |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-endgame-idUSTRE7853C520110906 |access-date=2023-01-24}} In the 1980s, he had several international postings, primarily in Europe, at a time when many anti-Gaddafi dissidents were being assassinated extrajudicially abroad as a result of Gaddafi's "stray dog" policy.{{Cite web |title=Who’s who: The people behind the recordings |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2012/5/11/whos-who-the-people-behind-the-recordings |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2004-03-28 |title=Gadaffi still hunts 'stray dogs' in UK |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/mar/28/politics.libya |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2011-02-22 |title=Factbox: Gaddafi rule marked by abuses, rights groups say |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-protest-abuses-idUSTRE71L1NH20110222 |access-date=2023-01-24}}
Biography
El-Safi is a native of Tobruk and later spent time in Tajura, where he caught the attention of Gaddafi.
He was a shadowy figure who was virtually unknown by both Libyans and international observers until frequent communications between him and senior leadership of Gaddafi's government, including Gaddafi, Abdullah Senussi, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, and Baghdadi Mahmudi, were leaked by Al Jazeera in 2012.{{Cite web |title=Saif al-Islam Gaddafi 'gave direct orders for Libyan opponents to be killed' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/9257924/Saif-al-Islam-Gaddafi-gave-direct-orders-for-Libyan-opponents-to-be-killed.html |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{Cite news |title=Gaddafi son ordered death of ‘traitors’, phone tapes claim |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/gaddafi-son-ordered-death-of-traitors-phone-tapes-claim-kjv8pm99wnb |access-date=2023-01-24 |issn=0140-0460}} El-Safi took a key role in attempting to put down the anti-Gaddafi opposition and orchestrated pro-Gaddafi propaganda and rallies. After the fall of Tripoli, El-Safi fled to Egypt. He was among an estimated 50,000 Gaddafi loyalists who fled to Egypt and among the most high-profile, along with Tohami Khaled, Ali Treki, and Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam.{{Cite web |date=2012-11-15 |title=Gaddafi’s ‘Amazon’ guard found murdered in Cairo |url=http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/22155 |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Saudigazette |language=English}} Despite the request of the National Transitional Council, he was not extradited for trial.
In 2016, El-Safi returned to Libyan politics and aligned himself with Khalifa Haftar's Operation Dignity.{{Cite web |title=America’s Own War Criminal In Libya {{!}} The Libya Observer |url=https://libyaobserver.ly/opinions/america%E2%80%99s-own-war-criminal-libya |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=libyaobserver.ly |language=en}} In April 2016, Haftar's Air Force head Fakir Jarroushi confirmed that El-Safi had returned to Libya and had a meeting with Haftar in Marj.{{Cite web |last=Hanly |first=Ken |date=2016-04-18 |title=Op-Ed: Libyan Air Force chief criticizes GNA Defence Minister-designate |url=https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/op-ed-libyan-air-force-chief-criticizes-gna-defence-minister-designate/article/463122 |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Digital Journal |language=en-US}} In November 2016, El-Safi publicly called for "comprehensive reconciliation" between the three rival governments in Libya and Gaddafi loyalists.{{Cite web |last=Al-awsat |first=Asharq |title=Middle-east Arab News Opinion |url=https://eng-archive.aawsat.com/abdul-sattar-hatita/interviews/tayeb-el-safi%E2%80%8B-%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B-%E2%80%8Bi-call-libyans-comprehensive-reconciliation |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=eng-archive.aawsat.com |language=UK}} He also criticized the UN-sponsored Skhirat Agreement that created the Government of National Accord as lacking legitimacy and the GNA-appointed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj as only having legality from international support rather than "legality from the Libyan people."
In June 2017, El-Safi claimed Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was released from prison due to a general amnesty and was with his family and tribe.{{Cite web |last=Al-awsat |first=Asharq |title=Middle-east Arab News Opinion |url=https://eng-archive.aawsat.com/abdul-sattar-hatita/news-middle-east/allying-haftar-gaddafi-sons-weakest-option |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=eng-archive.aawsat.com |language=UK}}
In May 2018, prominent Gaddafi loyalists, including El-Safi, Abdul Majid al-Qa′ud, Mohamed Abu al-Qasim al-Zwai, Mustafa Zaidi, and Saleh Rajab, publicly organized a forum in Haftar-controlled Benghazi named "The Preparatory Forum for National Forces," where they announced their support for Haftar and claimed that they wanted to save Libya from "terrorism, chaos, and foreign intervention."{{Cite web |date=2018-05-15 |title=Libya has its first electoral alliance between Haftar and Gaddafi loyalists |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180515-libya-has-its-first-electoral-alliance-between-haftar-and-gaddafi-loyalists/ |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Middle East Monitor |language=en-GB}}