FinPol Digest

 On Thursday, Libya's acting prime minister confirmed and defended the extradition of the man who is thought to have built the bomb that brought down a Pan Am aircraft over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.  Premier Abdelhamid Dbeibah of Tripoli claimed that by cooperating "when it comes to crimes done outside of its jurisdiction," he has "behaved with respect for the sovereignty of Libya."  Since his extradition, Dbeibah has faced harsh condemnation from both political opponents and human rights advocates.  The suspected intelligence agent for Muammar Qaddafi's government in Libya, Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, 71, appeared in a US court on Monday to answer charges related to the terror attack that claimed 270 lives.  Two years ago, the US brought charges against him in connection with the Lockerbie bombing.  Masud was "responsible for the bomb-making cell" under Qaddafi's rule, according to Dbeibah, who made the claim in a speech that was aired on n...

  Libya will not open any additional border crossings with Tunisia, Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah announced yesterday. "The region is going through real security problems and terrorist risks," Dbeibah told Mosaique FM, adding that his country's border crossings would only be opened "if necessary." Dbeibah pointed out that his country was facing "problems at the border crossings with Tunisia, including logistics, as well as the media's failure to record the entry and exit of travelers." The head of the Government of National Unity noted that the Ras Jedir crossing required "further improvements due to the large transit movement it has been witnessing recently."