United States Government Refuses to Offer Accused War Criminal Immunity After Campaigning by Emadeddin Muntasser
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA , UNITED STATES, January 12, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In December 2020, Emadeddin Muntasser, a passionate human rights activist and the president of the Democracy and Human Rights Foundation, sent a letter to the United States Department of State, petitioning Mr. David Schenker, assistant secretary of Near Eastern Affairs in the U.S. State Department, not to grant accused war criminal Khalifa Haftar immunity. A copy of the letter was later distributed among members of the United States Senate and Foreign Affairs committees.
Exactly 19 days after Emadeddin Muntasser’s original letter was sent, he is pleased to announce that the United States Department of State declined to offer an opinion on Khalifa Haftar’s defense attorney’s claim of immunity, brought before the Eastern Virginia District Court. It is with the Eastern Virginia District Court that Haftar currently faces multiple civil lawsuits relating to both war crimes and torture.
Owing in part to the hard work and persistence of the Democracy and Human Rights Foundation and of Emadeddin Muntasser, the United States government will not be offering immunity to accused war criminal and renegade warlord Khalifa Haftar.
In Muntasser’s original letter petitioning the United States Department of State not to grant Haftar immunity, he listed several of the crimes that Haftar has committed. Such crimes included ordering extrajudicial killings and a military coup against Libyan officials, which occurred in 2014.
Yet another reason that Muntasser petitioned the U.S. State Department not to grant Haftar immunity was because according to Muntasser, the argument made by the defense that Haftar should be granted immunity because he is a head of state in Libya is moot. Muntasser countered that the United States government has never once acknowledged Khalifa Haftar to be the head of state of Libya and so this claim does not hold up.
In his original letter to the Department of State, Emadeddin Muntasser also refuted the defense’s claim that failing to grant Haftar immunity might disturb the ceasefire in Libya. On this point, Muntasser noted that Haftar is known for making “war not peace” and provided evidence to back up his claim.
Finally, in addition to the favorable response from the United States Department of State on this matter, Muntasser also contacted the Government of National Accord and the Libyan Parliament in Tripoli, petitioning them to dissuade the United States government from offering Haftar immunity. Both branches granted Muntasser’s request and sent letters in this vein to the Department of State and the United States Congress on December 28, 2020.
About Emadeddin Muntasser
Emadeddin Muntasser is a native of Libya, born in Tripoli; however, he emigrated to the United States in 1981. Muntasser went on to earn a Bachelor of Science with honors and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Upon graduating, he decided to start his own retail and real estate business and has been an entrepreneur ever since. Outside of work, Muntasser is a passionate activist and the president of the Democracy and Human Rights Foundation, where he fights for a variety of human rights causes in Libya, North Africa, and beyond.
Exactly 19 days after Emadeddin Muntasser’s original letter was sent, he is pleased to announce that the United States Department of State declined to offer an opinion on Khalifa Haftar’s defense attorney’s claim of immunity, brought before the Eastern Virginia District Court. It is with the Eastern Virginia District Court that Haftar currently faces multiple civil lawsuits relating to both war crimes and torture.
Owing in part to the hard work and persistence of the Democracy and Human Rights Foundation and of Emadeddin Muntasser, the United States government will not be offering immunity to accused war criminal and renegade warlord Khalifa Haftar.
In Muntasser’s original letter petitioning the United States Department of State not to grant Haftar immunity, he listed several of the crimes that Haftar has committed. Such crimes included ordering extrajudicial killings and a military coup against Libyan officials, which occurred in 2014.
Yet another reason that Muntasser petitioned the U.S. State Department not to grant Haftar immunity was because according to Muntasser, the argument made by the defense that Haftar should be granted immunity because he is a head of state in Libya is moot. Muntasser countered that the United States government has never once acknowledged Khalifa Haftar to be the head of state of Libya and so this claim does not hold up.
In his original letter to the Department of State, Emadeddin Muntasser also refuted the defense’s claim that failing to grant Haftar immunity might disturb the ceasefire in Libya. On this point, Muntasser noted that Haftar is known for making “war not peace” and provided evidence to back up his claim.
Finally, in addition to the favorable response from the United States Department of State on this matter, Muntasser also contacted the Government of National Accord and the Libyan Parliament in Tripoli, petitioning them to dissuade the United States government from offering Haftar immunity. Both branches granted Muntasser’s request and sent letters in this vein to the Department of State and the United States Congress on December 28, 2020.
About Emadeddin Muntasser
Emadeddin Muntasser is a native of Libya, born in Tripoli; however, he emigrated to the United States in 1981. Muntasser went on to earn a Bachelor of Science with honors and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Upon graduating, he decided to start his own retail and real estate business and has been an entrepreneur ever since. Outside of work, Muntasser is a passionate activist and the president of the Democracy and Human Rights Foundation, where he fights for a variety of human rights causes in Libya, North Africa, and beyond.
Emadeddin Muntasser
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