Aide convicted of role in bombing of French plane

Intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi is married to the sister of Muammar al-Gaddafi’s wife and was one of the dictator’s most trusted aides.

A prominent figure in Libya, Senussi held various roles during Gaddafi’s tenure, including deputy chief of the external security organisation.

In August, his son, Mohammed Abdullah al-Senussi, was killed alongside Gaddafi’s son Khamis fighting south-east of Tripoli.

Senussi has been accused in the past of human rights abuses, including being implicated in the massacre in 1996 of more than 1,000 inmates at the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli.

He has been unable to travel abroad since he was convicted in absentia in 1999 by France for his role in the bombing of a French UTA passenger plane in 1989 which blew up over the West African country of Niger, killing 170 people.

Since the Libyan revolt broke out, Senussi has been accused of ordering the killing of protesters and recruiting foreign mercenaries fighting for Gaddafi.

Senussi is a member of the Magarha tribe, the second-biggest in Libya and the same as Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.