Swiss hand fugitive to Libya after 19 months

by Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Published: 6:41PM GMT twenty-two February 2010

Max Goeldi had taken retreat after being indicted of immigration offences at the opening of a long-running brawl in in between Switzerland and Col Muammar Gaddafi"s regime.

Mr Goeldi and a second Swiss man, Rashid Hamdani, were arrested after Col Gaddafi"s son, Hannibal, and his mother Aline were arrested in Geneva following an rumpus with their servants on a outing in 2008. The integrate left Switzerland after dual days and the charges were dropped.

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The Swiss had claimed the charges opposite the businessmen were "trumped up" and refused to palm the men over, heading to the prolonged stand-off.

But European leaders forced the Swiss in to a degrading climb-down after the Libyans stopped arising visas to European travellers in revenge.

Dozens of armed military surrounded the embassy in Tripoli on Monday sunrise where Max Goeldi and Mr Hamdani were holed up forward of a midday deadline.

The Libyan show of force was accompanied by the hazard of vague "further measures" if the men did not leave the compound.

Lawyers pronounced Mr Goeldi, who worked for the engineering organisation ABB, would rught away interest the 4 month judgment for overstaying his visa. Mr Hamdani, who additionally binds a Tunisian passport, was authorised to leave the country.

Tripoli last week inextricable Europe in the brawl by refusing to issue visas to countries in 25-member "Schengen" zone, that enclosed Switzerland. Though not a part of of the EU, the Swiss were forced in to EU-led talks with the Libyans.

The Swiss supervision had appeared dynamic to not to cavern in to Col Gaddafi"s final but the corner of Europe forced the hand.

Micheline Calmy-Rey, the Swiss unfamiliar minister, supposed that Max Goeldi would be surrendered for a prison tenure during a array of meetings involving Mousa Kousa, Libya"s unfamiliar apportion in Berlin and Madrid.

Mr Kousa summoned EU ambassadors to palm down the final on Sunday night.

"No embassy should turn a breakwater from justice," Mr Kousa said. "I goal this will not force us to adopt alternative measures."

Col Gaddafi heaped sequence chagrin on the Swiss during the impasse. He withdrew billions from Swiss banks and probably criminialized production traffic in in between Switzerland an the oil-rich Libyan economy. At one point last year a Swiss presidential jet sat at Tripoli airfield for days prior to returning dull after Col Gaddafi reneged on a understanding to free the men.

Swiss politicians cursed the EU"s purpose in forcing Miss Calmy-Rey in to a capitulation.

"Switzerland should be upheld by the EU, not put underneath the vigour of time," pronounced Gerhard Pfister, a Christian Democrat MP.