Sarkozy Spied On Anti-Gaddafi Dissidents, Passed Intelligence To Libya

Brit Dee, Contributor
Activist Post

Last month it was alleged that Nicolas Sarkozy accepted €50 million from Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 election campaign; now France’s intelligence service has been accused of running surveillance operations on anti-Gaddafi dissidents and passing on the information, leading to their capture and killing.

The allegations have been made by a Libyan living in France named Jomode Elie Getty, and appear to be supported by documents published by the French investigative website Mediapart. Amidst a large stash of notes recovered from an archive in southern Libya, Mr Getty claims to have discovered a report dated 13 June 2007 showing how he and other dissidents were under French intelligence surveillance. Another intelligence report, dated only a few months before a state visit to France by Gaddafi, apparently details how French intelligence operatives had been instructed to “listen to contacts, to identify them and track them down” and to “prevent anti-Libyan acts”. He claims that

numerous anti-Gaddafi protesters were arrested and killed following the 2007 surveillance, which was, “like something carried out by the Stasi”, the notorious Communist security organisation in the old East Germany.

The surveillance operation was allegedly coordinated by Bashir Saleh Bashir, a former Gaddafi loyalist who some believe is currently living in France under the protection of powerful political and business allies.

Mr Bashir is the former head of the Libyan African Portfolio investment fund and served as an intermediary between the Gaddafi family, Africa, and France. The African Portfolio has been described as a “black hole” due to its lack of regulatory oversight, and $7bn of missing Libyan cash and assets is believed to have been invested by the fund in obscure accounts, property, natural resources and shares.

According to several diplomats spoken to by The Financial Times, during last year’s Libyan war Mr Bashir was in Tunisia meeting African businesspeople where it is suspected he was trying to buy arms and recruit mercenaries for the Gaddafi regime. Despite his detention by anti-Gaddafi rebel forces in Zintan following the overthrow of the government, Bashir was apparently whisked away to France – his mysterious escape raising obvious suspicions that the French government wanted to keep secret their close pre-war business relationship with Gaddafi. According to The Financial Times, the new authorities in Libya:

admit they have been less persistent in tracking down Mr Bashir. This has led to speculation among Libyans that his case is being kept on ice with the tacit agreement of Libyan transitional officials until after the French elections on April 22. France spearheaded the Nato bombing campaign that helped rebels overrun Gaddafi’s regime.

In light of such revelations the corrupt behavior of Sarkozy and the French government can be described as nothing less than staggering. Gaddafi was blatantly a close friend of the French elite prior to last year’s NATO “intervasion”. As well as intelligence service attempts to support the Colonel by suppressing anti-Gaddafi dissidents, and his alleged acceptance of millions of Euros in campaign funds, Sarkozy referred to Gaddafi as the “Brother Leader” and played host to him in Paris.

Despite such close ties Sarkozy was very quick to opportunistically ringlead the warmongering against his former friend last March, evidently eying the lucrative spoils promised by Gaddafi’s removal from power. He was then apparently equally quick to orchestrate a cover-up by providing safe passage and protection to those who knew too much — including captured intermediary bagmen such as Bashir.

Jomode Elie Getty says he intends to sue Sarkozy and his Interior Minister Claude Guéant because of their alleged illegal surveillance, though Sarkozy cannot be prosecuted while in office. The Élysée Palace has unsurprisingly refused to comment.

This article first appeared at Resistance Radio.

Brit Dee runs an independent online radio station called Resistance Radio, which broadcasts daily news, views and analysis challenging the lies of our corrupt political and financial leaders, and the controlled corporate media, at http://www.resistradio.com.