The head of the Foundation for Democracy and Human Rights, Imad Addin al-Muntasir, said on Sunday that Haftar has appointed a new legal team; To represent him before the US courts, after attempts by him to block the cases filed against him in the Virginia court.
Al-Muntasir added – in a statement to Website 21 – that the court threatened Haftar in early 2020 that it would convict him and impose compensation on him worth $ 80 million, pointing out that Haftar’s former defense team continued to participate in court sessions until January 8, 2021 when they informed the court of their withdrawal from the case.
Al-Muntasir revealed that the court had given Haftar a new deadline, which ended last Friday, to appoint a new defense team, and before the deadline expired, a new law firm submitted a notice to represent their client Haftar before the court, noting that the latter was well aware that unless he appointed a new lawyer before the deadline, the prosecution’s lawyers would request From the court to issue a judgment in absentia and determine compensation, and the case would definitely have ended with indictment and compensation for the victims within a few weeks.
Al-Muntasir emphasized that the court will not allow Haftar to disrupt the case again, and the court sessions will begin to take place after a short time for the new legal team to view the case and its details, stating that they are about to start the preparatory phase for the selection of jurors and the actual trial, in order for them to obtain an indictment and compensation for the victims.
Al-Muntasir revealed that this will be the beginning of the end for Haftar and his sons accused of committing war crimes, torture and detention at a level not witnessed by mankind since the outbreak of World War II, and that the chances for the success of Haftar’s trial are great, especially since American law gives the right to anyone to pursue the Americans if they cause any harm, and Haftar is considered an American citizen, and caused damage and destruction to many – as he said -.
It is worth noting that the head of the American-Libyan Alliance, Issam Omeish, confirmed on January 9 that the Alliance team and the lawyer for Libyan families affected by Haftar’s crimes received notification from Haftar’s lawyers of their intention to abandon the mission of defending him, after they lost contact with him.
