Libyan dissident Belhaj 'grateful' for 'courageous' UK apology

ISTANBUL - Former Libyan Islamist fighter turned politician Abdel Hakim Belhaj on Thursday said he was grateful to the British government for its "courageous" apology over contributing to his ill treatment in his rendition to Libya.

"I express my gratitude for this courageous move made by the British Prime Minister (Theresa) May and the Attorney General" Jeremy Wright, Belhaj told a news conference in Istanbul.

"This apology is accepted and it puts an end to years of suffering," added Belhaj, who is now based in Istanbul.

Belhaj, who became Tripoli's military commander after Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi was ousted in the 2011 revolution, claimed British complicity in the capture of himself and his wife Fatima Boudchar in Thailand in 2004 by the CIA.

They were subsequently tortured by the Kadhafi regime after being sent back to Libya.

The British government accepted the couple "were subjected to a harrowing ordeal which caused them significant distress", and said that it had reached "a full and final settlement" with them both.

Boudchar will receive £500,000 (570,000 euros, $670,000) compensation, but Belhaj did not seek any financial settlement, only an apology.

"The apology is a clear message that Abdel Hakim Belhaj has no relation whatsoever with terrorism, whether ideologically or in practice or by supporting it," Belhaj added, referring to himself in the third person.

"I hope that this positive step taken by the UK government opens a new page and would become an example to follow by other governments," he added.

Following his release from prison in Libya, Belhaj founded the conservative Islamist party Al-Watan.

He also founded a pro-Islamist television channel, opposed to Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army and now the strongman of eastern Libya and its second city of Benghazi.

The headquarters of the television channel have also now moved to Istanbul after being attacked.