The investigative outlet released a document claiming that Sarkozy had been heavily financed by the Libyan president. Nine separate legal inquiries have been conducted into the Sarkozy matter, including his detention and questioning in March and again in March His trial has been spurred on with the questioning of Ziad Takieddine, a French-Lebanese arms dealer who is said to have delivered two suitcases stuffed with millions to Sarkozy, and his chief of staff Claude Gueant over the end of and start of Known as a combative and totalitarian leader, Gaddafi lorded over a regime that regularly propped up foreign aggressors, suppressed dissent and engaged in widespread corruption.
He ruled Libya in two political factions from to The dictator's reign was brought to a disastrous end in after the Arab Spring, when protests that had spread across the Arab world took hold in Libya, reaching a zenith there in a civil war on Feb. Gaddafi's desire to maintain control through repeated attacks on civilians and brute military force resulted equally in UN Security Council resolutions 14 days later that sought to quash the president's increasing militarization.
The checkered relationship however between Sarkozy and Gaddafi -- and the undoing of the Libyan leader -- has roots in a trio of domestic, international and personal motivations for the French leader.
When Sarkozy was still interior minister in , he had eagerly developed his relationship with Gaddafi starting with the Libyan leader's purchase that year of a surveillance system from French company i2e. The following year, Gaddafi made overtures to purchase 14 Rafale fighter jets from French-based Dassault Aviation -- an important sale for Sarkozy but one which failed to come to fruition.
In mid with a faded arms deal behind him and the Arab Spring igniting a few months later, Sarkozy had soured on his cozy relationship with the Libyan dictator. British Foreign Secretary William Hague refused to be drawn Saturday on the reported files detailing the closeness of ties between London and Tripoli, insisting they related to the previous government.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman told AFP: "It is the long-standing policy of the government not to comment on intelligence matters. We have checked and no such visits took place," a spokesman told AFP. In the latest revelations from intelligence documents obtained by media and rights groups in Tripoli, the paper said Blair had also helped another of Kadhafi's sons, Seif al-Islam, with his doctoral thesis.
Elsewhere on Saturday, a special adviser for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Tripoli, as the international body and Libya's new leaders stepped up efforts to bring order and democracy to the country.
Ian Martin landed at a military airbase in the capital, after Ban said the world body was ready to assist in re-establishing security following the nearly seven-month uprising that ousted Kadhafi. And almost two weeks since anti-Kadhafi forces overran Tripoli, there were signs of life returning to normal in the capital. There was still no firm word on the whereabouts of the toppled strongman after he defiantly threatened to lead a protracted insurgency in audio tapes aired by Arab media on Thursday.
The victors extended until next weekend an ultimatum for the surrender of remaining loyalists to give time for negotiations to bear fruit. Daily newsletter Receive essential international news every morning.
Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app. Gaddafi and his family are willing to destroy the entire Libyan nation in order to cling onto power. A man who threatens his own country with civil war forfeits the right to rule. It is time for him to go. The West should recognize such bluster for what it is.
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