A Libyan militia leader has launched legal proceedings against the British Government, which he claims was complicit in his illegal rendition and torture. A Libyan militia leader has launched legal proceedings against the British Government, which he claims was complicit in his illegal rendition and torture. Mr Belhadj, who is a leader of the rebel forces that ousted Col Muammar Gaddafi from power in August, told the BBC in September: 'What happened to me was illegal and it deserves an apology.' Photo: REUTERS Barney Henderson By Barney Henderson 7:57PM GMT 19 Dec 2011 Abdulhakim Belhadj, head of the Tripoli Military Council, is suing ministers and MI6 for "barbaric" treatment he claims he received over a period of six years in a Libyan prison. Mr Belhadj had attempted to seek asylum in Britain in 2004 and boarded a flight with his wife from Kuala Lumpur. However, he was put on a CIA "rendition" flight to Tripoli, where he said he was repeatedly tortured, after British intelligence officers provided information on his movements. He said he was interrogated by British and American agents as a suspected al-Qaeda supporter. He said he was hung by his wrists from hooks in his cell for prolonged periods while hooded, blindfolded and beaten. He was then allegedly sentenced to death during a 15-minute trial. Related Articles "The barbaric treatment which our clients describe, both at the hands of the Americans and the Libyans, is beyond comprehension and yet it appears that the UK was responsible for setting off this torturous chain of events," said Sapna Malik from Mr Belhadj's solicitors Leigh Day & Co. Mr Belhadj, who is a leader of the rebel forces that ousted Col Muammar Gaddafi from power in August, told the BBC in September: "What happened to me was illegal and it deserves an apology." The Foreign Office does not comment on intelligence matters but says the government is holding an inquiry into claims of detainee rendition. Mr Belhadj is the second prominent Libyan rebel to launch legal action against the Government. Sami al-Saadi, a member of a Libyan mujahideen group, claims MI6 arranged to send him home to be tortured in Gaddafi's jails.

Cowardice asks the question - is it safe?
Expediency asks the question - is it politic?
Vanity asks the question - is it popular?
But conscience asks the question - is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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