Libyan government rejects suspension of foreign minister

The Libyan government on Sunday rejected the Presidential Council’s decision to suspend Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush.

The Council of Ministers said that decision is not within the authority of the Presidential Council.

“According to the results of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum held in Geneva, the Presidential Council has limited powers, has no legal right to appoint or dismiss members of the executive branch, and this right is exclusively vested in the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government,” it said.

The Presidential Council of Libya suspended Mangoush on Saturday, citing “administrative violations.”

Mangoush is accused of violating administrative rules by acting unilaterally on foreign policy matters, without coordination with the council.

Libya expert Emadeddin Badi linked Mangoush’s suspension to comments she made about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing in a BBC interview last week.

During the interview, Badi said Mangoush had “hinted at a potential extradition” of the man wanted over the plane bombing – Abu Agila Mohammed Masud – saying that “positive outcomes are coming” in his case.

The US alleges that Masud, a former member of Libya’s intelligence services, assembled and programmed the bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people.

Meanwhile, head of the Lockerbie Legal Team, Amer Anwar, told media sources that “Because of the actions of El-Mangoush there will now be huge pressure on Libya to extradite Abu Agila Masud to the US.”

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