Lebanese prosecutor charges Libya's Gadhafi (AP)
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer 21 minutes ago
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A Lebanese prosecutor has charged Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and six other Libyan officials in the disappearance of a top Lebanese Shiite cleric 30 years ago, judicial officials in Beirut said Wednesday.
Prosecutor Samih al-Haj charged the Libyan leader with "incitement to kidnap and withhold the freedom" of the imam and his companions, the officials said. Under Lebanese law, the charges carry between seven years and life imprisonment, and possibly even a death sentence.
Arrest warrants were also issued for Gadhafi and the other six Libyans charged, the Lebanese officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The case has been a long-standing sore issue in Lebanon, where authorities blame Gadhafi and his aides for the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr and the imam's two companions during a trip to Libya in 1978.
Libya insists al-Sadr and his aides left on a flight to Rome at the end of their visit, and suggests the imam fell victim to an inter-Shiite power struggle.
In Lebanon, it is widely believed that the three Shiites were killed after a dispute with Gadhafi. But the al-Sadr family strongly believes the imam is alive somewhere in a Libyan jail.
The judicial officials acknowledged that charging Gadhafi is a largely symbolic move, because it's unlikely he would travel to stand trial in Lebanon.
In 2004, relatives of al-Sadr and his companions filed a complaint with Lebanese judicial authorities against Gadhafi and 17 other Libyan officials. Lebanon's prosecutor-general ordered Gadhafi summoned for questioning, but the Libyan leader never responded.
Gadhafi is not believed to have visited Lebanon since al-Sadr's disappearance.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is seen during the Arab Summit in Damascus, Syria. A Lebanese prosecutor is seeking the death sentence for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and six other Libyan officials over the disappearance of a top Lebanese Shiite cleric 30 years ago, judicial officials said Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)" class="newsimage" />