Libya affair (Switzerland)
The Libya affair is a conflict between the Swiss government ( Federal Council ) and Libya or its dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi between 2008 and 2011.
Course of the conflict
Arrested in Geneva
On Wednesday, July 2, 2008, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) was announced by the Libyan embassy in Bern that there would be a high-profile visit. Muammar al-Gaddafi's son Hannibal traveled to Switzerland with his wife Aline, née Aline Skaf. The couple were accompanied by their three-year-old son, two bodyguards , three doctors and two domestic servants. They stayed at the luxury hotel Président Wilson in Geneva , which is rated as the most expensive hotel in the world, where they occupied ten suites .
Ten days later, the two domestic workers - a woman and a man - phoned the Geneva police. They said they were badly mistreated and threatened by their employers. The two servants reported the dictator's son and his wife, were taken to a hospital and sought refuge in a Geneva center for victims of violence. Immediately after the escape, the Geneva police called a doctor who found both recent and older injuries on the domestic workers. The two plaintiffs were placed under police protection and did not return to the hotel. In a documentary on Swiss television, photos of the bruises on the woman's face were shown that were taken in the hospital.
On the morning of July 15, four plainclothes Geneva police officers entered the hotel. The police wanted to take the Gaddafi couple discreetly to the post for questioning. In the corridor on the third floor, two Libyan bodyguards and two Swiss security guards blocked their way. Discussions ensued that lasted over an hour and a half. A diplomat from the Libyan UN embassy, alarmed by the hotel's general manager, also joined them. When it became clear that the police would not be admitted to the Gaddafi couple, the chief police officer called twenty officers.
There was a scuffle in the corridor between the two dozen police officers and the two Libyan bodyguards. The Swiss security guards remained calm. One of the bodyguards was hit in the face when he bit a police officer in the right arm. The two unarmed Libyans were quickly overwhelmed.
The security service of the hotel opened the suite with a master key, around twenty officers stormed the room. Hannibal came into the room from a changing room and did not offer any resistance. The police handcuffed him for safety with handcuffs . They later emphasized that they had handcuffed Hannibal while standing. Officials stormed into Aline's room too. In a memorandum dated September 5, 2008, the Libyans alleged that the officers held a gun in Hannibal's face and pulled a hood over his head. This is denied by the Swiss side and all witnesses. The three-year-old son was eventually placed in the care of Aline's sister-in-law, who happened to be at the hotel. Hannibal was led through a back door of the hotel and driven to the police station in an armored car . His wife was driven to an ambulance in a wheelchair and under police protection to the hospital . Hannibal was taken to an interrogation room. He was interrogated twice until 10:15 p.m.
«I was humiliated. I've never been violent. My domestic workers simply want asylum in Switzerland. My bodyguards should have woken me up. If you had contacted me directly, I would have come with you without any problems. "
He spent the night in a holding cell in the courthouse.
On July 16, 2008, Gaddafi was interrogated for two hours by examining magistrate Michel Graber. Gaddafi was accompanied by several lawyers. Then the judge asked the wife Aline about the allegations of the two domestic workers. She also denied having ever laid a hand on the domestic workers, insulted or threatened them. Maybe she was abrupt, probably because of the pregnancy, she said. And on the alleged deprivation of liberty: "It is impossible to lock someone into their hotel room, because you can open all doors from the inside." Examining magistrate Graber finally issued two arrest warrants against the couple: for simple bodily harm, threats and coercion. He dropped the charge of deprivation of liberty. A day later, at 5:25 p.m., Hannibal was released on bail of 200,000 francs and Aline on bail of 300,000 francs.
The two domestic workers withdrew their complaints against the Gaddafi couple in early September 2008 after two Swiss businessmen were arrested in Libya. The domestic workers received adequate compensation from an unknown source and a temporary residence permit in Switzerland for humanitarian reasons. The Geneva attorney general Daniel Zappelli stopped the criminal proceedings. After all, minor bodily harm and a threat, said Zappelli, were “not official offenses”.
Measures by Libya against Switzerland
Economically
After his arrest in Geneva, Muammar al-Gaddafi suspended economic cooperation with Switzerland. The reason given by the Libyans was "the bad treatment of several Libyan diplomats and business people by the police in the canton of Geneva".
Oil stop
On October 8, 2008, oil deliveries from Libya to Switzerland were suspended. The revenge of Gaddafi is suspected behind the action.
"Libya suspended its crude oil deliveries on Wednesday."
In Tripoli it had previously been said that the delivery stop was a consequence of the still unsolved conflict over the temporary arrest. No statement was available from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday evening.
"The FDFA cannot comment on this because it has not received any information from the official Libyan side."
For the Swiss Petroleum Association , the delivery stop is annoying, but not threatening, and the supply of oil in Switzerland was not in the least endangered. The price for consumers has not risen either, and the Libyan delivery stop would only have had an impact in Switzerland after two to three weeks.
Most affected, however, was the Tamoil refinery in Collombey in the canton of Valais , which is Libyan owned and operates 320 Tamoil petrol stations in Switzerland. The refinery in Collombey delivered 2.2 million tons of petroleum products annually, which corresponded to a fifth of Swiss demand. There have been no official reactions from Switzerland so far.
"This is a decision by the Libyan government and not by Tamoil."
Cash withdrawal
In June 2009 it became known that Libya had withdrawn more than CHF 5 billion in fixed assets from Swiss banks . Farhat Bengdara , head of the Libyan central bank , told a news agency that Libya had withdrawn all its balances from Swiss banks and transferred them to other banks in Europe.
According to the Swiss National Bank , at the end of 2007 Swiss banks held CHF 5.784 billion (EUR 3.76 billion) from Libya. There were also fiduciary investments amounting to 812 million francs. The Libyan assets were increased by a good billion within a year. Conversely, at the end of 2007 the balances of the Swiss banks in Libya amounted to just CHF 111 million.
Swiss
The airline Swiss was no longer allowed to fly to Tripoli. Libya asserted "technical reasons for the renovation of the Tripoli airport".
According to Swiss spokesman Jean-Claude Donzel, the measure affected the weekly connection between Switzerland and Libya. This flight was the only one to be maintained after the dispute between Switzerland and Libya in the summer.
Until December 2008 there was therefore only one direct flight from Zurich to Tripoli instead of three . Then Libya also prohibited this flight.
Swiss had dissolved their organization in the Libyan capital and the planes would now be used elsewhere, said Swiss spokeswoman Andrea Kreuzer when asked by the SDA news agency. Even after the conflict between Switzerland and Libya was resolved, Swiss did not resume the flight connection.
Further economic measures
Another economic measure was that ships with a Swiss flag were not allowed to dock and be loaded at the ports of Libya. In addition, Gaddafi had a visa ban imposed and all branches of Swiss companies closed.
On March 3, 2010, Libya imposed a total economic boycott on Switzerland, which Gaddafi justified with the strained relations. Medicines and medical devices should be imported from other countries and oil deliveries to Switzerland should be stopped.
Detained people
In response to Hannibal's arrest, 54-year-old Max Göldi from Aargau , an employee at ABB , and 68-year-old Rachid Hamdani from Vaud were arrested three days later . Both are Swiss, Hamdani is also a Tunisian citizen. From a Libyan point of view, the two Swiss are not hostages , but foreign citizens who cannot leave the country because they have violated the residence regulations.
In addition, they are not forced to stay at the Swiss embassy. They are allowed to move freely in the country, but would be monitored. Your situation is grueling. You would suffer. That is why the Federal Council is committed to their situation.
500,000 dinars per capita would be required , which is the equivalent of around 430,000 francs. Once the transfer has been made, the public prosecutor only has to sign it so that the two of them can leave.
According to the spokesman for the finance department, Roland Meier , the information is a rumor. There was also no comment on the information provided by the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim on the previous day that the two Swiss had to pay an undisclosed fine before they could leave the country.
"We find that the two Swiss could not leave Libya until midnight on Monday, despite a corresponding written assurance from the Libyan Prime Minister to Federal President Merz."
As various news agencies reported on December 1, 2009, the two hostages were sentenced to 16 months in Libya. Reports from Tripoli said the penalty had been imposed for visa and tax offenses. Towards the end of the year the affair intensified after Amnesty International Libya demanded a fair trial or immediate release for the two Swiss.
In an appeal in February 2010, Göldi's sentence was reduced to four months in prison, from which he was released on June 10th. However, there was a fine of 860 francs for illegal business activity. The case against Hamdani was dropped and he was expelled. He traveled back to Switzerland via Tunisia . Max Göldi also arrived back in Switzerland on June 14, 2010. On the flight home he was accompanied by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey .
Military threats and demands
On the sidelines of the G8 summit in Italy in July 2009 , Gaddafi described Switzerland as a helper of terrorism and suggested that Switzerland be broken up. For this purpose, the parts of Switzerland should be assigned to the surrounding nations, since Switzerland is the “mafia of the world”.
"If I had an atom bomb , I would remove Switzerland from the map."
Libya submitted a motion to the General Assembly of the United Nations to break up Switzerland , which took place on September 15, 2009. Libya presided over the assembly at the time. The motion was not on the agenda because it was rejected by the committee responsible for planning the program of the General Assembly. In his ninety-minute speech to the meeting on September 23, 2009, Gaddafi, contrary to expectations, did not mention the subject of Switzerland.
Gaddafi repeated the call for the smashing of Switzerland in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine at the beginning of January 2010.
On February 25, 2010, three days after Rachid Hamdani left the country, the Libyan head of state gave a speech in Benghazi on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. The speech was broadcast live on Libyan television. In it Gaddafi called for jihad against Switzerland, Zionism and foreign aggression. He justified this with the minaret initiative that had been accepted by the people in Switzerland three months beforehand , with which Switzerland opposed the Koran and was therefore an unbeliever and apostate, as were all Muslims who work with Switzerland.
diplomacy
state contract
In order to settle the crisis, the Swiss Federal President Hans-Rudolf Merz apologized on August 20, 2009 in Libya for the arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi in July 2008. In a treaty, the two countries decided to restore bilateral relations. The two Swiss detained in Libya should also be allowed to leave the country. The second point of the State Treaty provided that diplomatic relations would be restored 60 days after the signing of the treaty. This deadline ended on October 20, 2009.
In accordance with the treaty between Switzerland and Libya of August 20, 2009, it was decided to set up an international arbitration tribunal for the event of Hannibal Gaddafi's arrest in Geneva in July 2008 to resolve the crisis. The agreement provided for a representative to be sent by Libya and Switzerland and a third judge to be appointed within 20 days to preside over the London-based arbitration tribunal. Once the court had been appointed, it would have had 60 days to pass judgment. On August 30, 2009, the Swiss Federal Council appointed the British lawyer and international lawyer Elizabeth Wilmshurst as judge. Libya set up the British lawyer Saad Jabbar for the arbitration court based in London .
Suspension of the contract
On November 4, 2009, the Swiss government suspended the agreement of August 20, 2009 because the Libyan government had not adhered to any of the points agreed in the treaty and also lured the two hostages from the Swiss embassy with a ruse (the hostages were reported that they have to do medical tests before they can leave the country) and then taken to an unknown location. The two hostages have been allowed to stay at the embassy again since November 9, but have still not been allowed to leave the country.
Lawsuit in Geneva
Hannibal Gaddafi is suing the canton of Geneva , the publishing newspaper and the journalists for violating the personality of the police because of the published police photos . At Christmas, Libya's foreign ministry published new allegations against Switzerland. It is now alleged that the Geneva police mistreated Gaddafi's son.
Visa restrictions
The dispute came to a head on February 15, 2010, when Libya no longer issued entry permits for the member states of the Schengen Agreement and declared visas that had already been issued to be invalid. The government of Libya described this as a reaction to a Swiss list of 180 Libyans who are not allowed to enter the Schengen area , including Gaddafi. On February 22nd, the EU foreign ministers wanted to discuss the current conflict at a meeting.
United States Implication
State Department spokesman PJ Crowley allowed himself an amused comment after the jihad was proclaimed. He compared the announcement with al-Gaddafi's speeches to the UN General Assembly, which would also contain many words but not necessarily a lot of meaning. After a violent reaction from the Libyan ambassador Ali Audjali in the USA, Crowley said that this was not a personal attack. Libya was not enough and threatened the US oil companies with consequences.
normalization
In the course of the civil war in Libya , in which al-Gaddafi was overthrown, the situation normalized. In mid-July 2011, Switzerland opened a liaison office in Benghazi, and on September 29, 2011, the Federal Council appointed Michel Gottret as Switzerland's new ambassador to Libya.
On January 9, 2012, the new government of Libya announced that all sanctions against Switzerland had been lifted.
Military Liberation Action Plans
As became known in the aftermath of the affair, Switzerland was also considering a military liberation operation in Libya.
Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey was asked about it in an interview on June 19, 2010. In general, she said that in a unique crisis, all options would need to be examined. When asked whether there were concrete plans for military intervention, she said that she cannot comment. On June 21, 2010, Federal President Doris Leuthard read a statement to the media and confirmed that the federal government had forged plans to free the hostages. She did not disclose what kind of action it was.
According to media speculation, various options were examined. The Tages-Anzeiger spoke of the following plans: They wanted to drive the Swiss hostages across the Algerian border a few days before Christmas 2008 . This did not come about because Algeria had set unsatisfactory conditions. Shortly afterwards, the federal government planned a similar action, this time the escape should lead via Niger . This action was not carried out either; it is believed that Algeria warned Libya. Already in the autumn of 2008 it was considered to smuggle the hostages out of the country with a small plane. In the final weeks of the hostage drama, the secret service should have examined another option. The idea was to hire a British security company. As a theoretical variant, a private liberation action from the sea was discussed, whereby a submarine would have been used.
Army reconnaissance detachment and escape clearance agents could be used for some of these options .
In an interview on June 26, 2010, Peter Regli , former head of the secret service, described the plans outlined in the media as rumors and speculations.
Artistic processing
The Libya affair served as a template for the satirical stage play “The Nepotistan Affair”, which premiered in September 2011 at the Casino Theater Winterthur . The piece was written by Viktor Giacobbo and Domenico Blass. Directed by Stefan Huber , actors are David Bröckelmann, Hanspeter Müller-Drossaart , Daniel Ludwig, László I. Kish , Rolf Sommer and Esther Gemsch .
literature
- Max Göldi: Gaddafi's Revenge - From the diary of a hostage. Wörterseh Verlag, Gockhausen 2018, ISBN 978-3-03763-103-4 .
Documentaries
- Hansjürg Zumstein : The lost honor. Two Swiss hostages in the hands of a dictator. Video in: DOK , Schweizer Fernsehen from June 14, 2010
- Anne-Frédérique Widmann, Marie-Laure Baggiolini: An eye for an eye - How the Libyan dictator blackmailed Switzerland. In: DOK, SRF 1 of March 6, 2014
Web links
- Dossier on the Libya-Switzerland crisis in the NZZ
- Chronicle of the Libya crisis for the period from July 2008 to December 3, 2010 in 20 minutes
- Video chronicle of the Libya crisis on Swiss television from August 2009 ( Memento from June 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- State treaty between Libya and Switzerland (English; PDF, 537 kB)
- Trouble with Libya, Swiss slipped helplessly in hostage crisis in: Spiegel Online from December 5, 2010
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Swiss television , June 14, 2010: The lost honor. Two Swiss hostages in the hands of a dictator. Documentary by DOK , duration: 50 minutes
- ↑ a b c d e f g Libya crisis “I was humiliated”. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
- ↑ Hannibal Qadhafi likes to beat out beatings - also against his wife. Retrieved September 4, 2009 .
- ↑ Libya reports Geneva for the arrest of Gaddafi. Retrieved September 4, 2009 .
- ↑ Police admit: arrest of Qadhafi's son was too brutal. Retrieved September 4, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Libya is withdrawing plants from Switzerland. Retrieved September 14, 2009 .
- ↑ a b c Gaddafi turns the oil tap on Switzerland. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
- ↑ Libya announces stop of oil deliveries to Switzerland. Retrieved September 14, 2009 .
- ↑ Libya withdraws funds from Swiss banks. Retrieved September 13, 2009 .
- ↑ Libya increases pressure on Switzerland. Retrieved September 13, 2009 .
- ^ Libya forbids Swiss flights to Tripoli. Retrieved June 12, 2010 .
- ↑ Libya refuses to land Swiss. Archived from the original on March 7, 2014 ; Retrieved September 14, 2009 .
- ↑ Swiss is not planning any flights to Libya. Retrieved September 14, 2009 .
- ↑ A sad Christmas in Tripoli. Retrieved September 14, 2009 .
- ↑ Libyans boycott Switzerland - Gaddafi is offended
- ↑ Economic and trade relations are suspended - Libya announces an embargo against Switzerland. ( Memento from March 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) tagesschau.de from March 3, 2010
- ↑ Merz: Hostages suffer - contract is fulfilled. Retrieved September 14, 2009 .
- ↑ a b c Libya wants ransom for the Swiss hostages. Retrieved September 14, 2009 .
- ↑ 16 months imprisonment for Swiss citizens in Libya / Gaddafi's revenge? - Article on N24.de (accessed on December 2, 2009)
- ↑ Amnesty International criticizes Libya - article on NZZ Online
- ↑ Second Swiss citizen starts prison sentence stern.de, February 22, 2010
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger : Göldi free - but without a visa Article from June 10, 2010, accessed on June 11, 2010
- ↑ Libya is satisfied with the Swiss reaction Article on NZZ Online of February 23, 2010
- ↑ Libya releases Swiss businessman from custody Spiegel Online from June 10, 2010
- ↑ Max Göldi back in Switzerland (NZZ)
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "If I had an atom bomb, I would wipe Switzerland out". Retrieved September 7, 2009 .
- ↑ Qadhafi demands the UN to dissolve Switzerland Article in the online edition of the Tages-Anzeiger from September 2, 2009
- ↑ Ghadhafi's latest Einfall article on NZZ Online from September 10, 2009
- ↑ Der Spiegel : Switzerland is a Mafia article from January 3, 2010
- ↑ NZZ Online: Ghadhafi calls for jihad against Switzerland , accessed on February 25, 2010
- ↑ Gaddafi declares jihad
- ^ Excerpts from Gaddafi's jihad speech , Spiegel online of February 26, 2010
- ↑ Merz apologizes to Qadhafi Der Bund, August 20, 2009
- ↑ Agreement between The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and The Swiss Confederation (PDF; 550 kB) Article on news-center.admin.ch (in English)
- ^ Federal Council suspends agreement with Libya Article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung of November 4, 2009
- ↑ Relations between Switzerland and Libya: Declaration by the Federal Council, published by the Swiss Federal Chancellery of November 4, 2009
- ↑ Geiseln back in the message article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung of November 10, 2009
- ↑ 20min.ch: Police photos by Hannibal Gaddafi
- ↑ Lawsuit for violated privacy protection. Standard, Vienna Article on Standard, Vienna
- ↑ Libya publishes list of allegations against Switzerland - article on NZZ Online
- ↑ Visa stop for Libya - Gaddafi locks EU citizens out
- ↑ 188 Libyans should not be allowed to enter Switzerland - Libyan newspaper report is not commented on by the FDFA
- ↑ Dispute Libya-Switzerland put on the agenda - EU foreign ministers will discuss the affair on Monday
- ↑ Reuters: Libya warns US energy firms over diplomatic row
- ↑ Switzerland and Libya end diplomatic ice age. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . September 29, 2011, accessed September 30, 2011 .
- ^ Libya / Switzerland: Libya lifts sanctions against Switzerland. In: Swiss Radio DRS . January 9, 2012, archived from the original on May 5, 2010 ; Retrieved January 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger : «In a crisis one cannot exclude any possibility» Interview from June 19, 2010
- ↑ SF 1 : Leuthard comments on the Libya affair ( memento from March 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Video of the broadcast 10vor10 from June 21, 2010
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger : How the federal government wanted to free the hostages Article from June 19, 2010
- ↑ SF 1 : Rumors about the Libya affair ( Memento from March 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Video of the broadcast 10vor10 from June 18, 2010
- ^ With the speedboat in the night NZZ , from June 24, 2010
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger : "I warn against James Bond ideas" Interview of June 26, 2010
- ^ State crisis in the institution in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of September 3, 2011
- ↑ Patrik Müller : Gaddafi becomes a quota hit ( memento from December 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) in: The Sunday of September 4, 2011
- ↑ "I don't think Hans-Rudolf Merz will come to the premiere" in: Tages-Anzeiger from September 1, 2011
- ^ The Nepotistan Affair ( Memento from November 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Casinotheater Winterthur
- ↑ Simone Rau, Thomas Knellwolf: "What a nightmare!" In: Tages-Anzeiger from October 31, 2018.
