Nuri al-Mismari

Nuri al-Mismari is the former chief of protocol of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Known as one of Gaddafi's closest aides, al-Mismari was a key member of his inner circle and served under him for 40 years, until his defection to France in 2010.

The Libyan government issued an international arrest warrant against him on charges of embezzlement. He was arrested in Paris but was then released from French custody. His extradition hearing was subsequently postponed and he was ultimately never extradited due to the Libyan civil war breaking out in 2011.

Biography

Background and career Nuri al-Mismari's father was a minister in the Kingdom of Libya under Idris of Libya. One of his sons was shot under mysterious circumstances in 2007 and the death was disguised as a suicide by authorities.

He was seen as the "gatekeeper" to Gaddafi and one of a small group of officials with access to Gaddafi's tent. Distinguished by his dyed blonde hair and goatee and ceremonial uniform, he was often seen standing next to Gaddafi at public events and shepherding visitors to Gaddafi. He was last seen with Gaddafi at the Arab-African summit in Sirte on 9 and 10 October 2010. It was alleged Gaddafi had insulted al-Mismari at the summit. He was arrested in Paris at the request of Libya, which alleged he was involved in embezzlement. His supporters in Libya, including sources close to Gaddafi's reformist son Saif al-Islam, countered that al-Mismari only went to France to undergo heart surgery and was set up amid a power struggle within Gaddafi's inner circle. Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa was held responsible for Mismari's defection and, anticipating more potential defections, Gaddafi confiscated the passports of several senior officials, including Koussa. On 16 December 2010, Gaddafi sent Abdallah Mansour, the head of Libyan state media, to lure al-Mismari back to Libya. Instead, Mansour was arrested at the Hotel Concorde Lafayette. On 23 December 2010, a delegation of anti-Gaddafi Libyans (Farj Charrani, Fathi Boukhris, and Ali Younes Mansouri) arrived in Paris to dine with al-Mismari, yet sources close to al-Mismari claimed he had resumed his "normal functions" as head of protocol and was preparing to return to Libya.

Due to the Libyan civil war breaking out in February 2011, al-Mismari was never extradited to Libya. In February 2011, one of Gaddafi's sons, Mutassim, allegedly came to Paris to ask him to return to Libya to no avail and al-Mismari subsequently tendered his resignation as chief of protocol from exile.

Libyan Civil War In February 2011, his son, Ihab El-Mismari, a high-ranking diplomat representing the Libyan embassy in Canada, resigned in protest over Gaddafi's crackdown of protestors in the early phase of the Libyan civil war. Ihab was not among the five Libyan diplomats expelled from Canada in May 2011.

In March 2011, al-Mismari predicted that Gaddafi would fight to the end in the Libyan civil war rather than step down, commit suicide, or go into exile. He also alleged that Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy, had sent escorts to an unidentified African leader to help Gaddafi get elected as Chairperson of the African Union in 2009.

Posthumous allegations against Gaddafi

al-Mismari claimed that on two occasions, Gaddafi raped foreign visitors to Libya. The alleged victims were a Nigerian woman and the wife of a Swiss businessman. He also alleged that Gaddafi harassed the ex-wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Cecilia. al-Mismari was named in Cojean's book Gaddafi's Harem: The Story of a Young Woman and the Abuses of Power in Libya.