Arab League chief backs Libya, assassination plan reported

Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdul Meguid stated that the Libyan position concerning the Lockerbie incident is based on the principles of international law and justice.

He expressed satisfaction over the recent stances proclaimed by the US and Britain towards the crisis as the two countries are being convinced to restore relations to normal with Libya. In a statement he made on Tuesday to Monte Carlo radio during his visit to Libya, Abdul Meguid described the approval of the US and British sides of the proposal submitted by the AL in that the two Libyans suspected of being involved in the Lockerbie incident should be tried at a neutral site as a positive development.

He stated that the decision taken by the International Court of Justice that the case is not the speciality of the UN Security Council has proven the right Arab and Libyan stance in this respect.

Meanwhile, The British daily the Guardian on Tuesday reported that a former officer in the British intelligence known as "MI5," currently imprisoned in France, alleged recently that a British intelligence branch had planned to assassinate Libyan President Moammar Gaddafi in 1996.

The paper added that this news came in information disclosed by David Schayler, a former officer in the British intelligence, and London has asked for his extradition from France because of his allegations which targeted MI5 for inefficiency.