Nuri al-Mismari
Nuri al-Mismari | |
|---|---|
| نوري المسماري | |
 al-Mismari in the Plenary Hall of the United Nations building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the African Union Summit on 2 February 2009 | |
| Occupations | politician, diplomat |
| Relatives | Ihab Al-Mismari (son) |
Nuri al-Mismari (Arabic: نوري المسماري) 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
[edit]Background and career
[edit]Nuri al-Mismari's father was a minister in the Kingdom of Libya under Idris of Libya.[1] One of his sons was shot under mysterious circumstances in 2007 and the death was disguised as a suicide by authorities.[1] He is fluent in many languages including English and French.[1] In 2008, al-Mismari played a minor role in reuniting a British woman with her daughter after her ex-husband abducted their daughter and took her to Libya.[2]
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.[3][1] A hotelier by trade, he was in charge of coordinating visits by foreign heads of state to Libya (including lodging at palaces), overseeing Libya's payments to Gaddafi's children, and managing Gaddafi's fleet of airplanes.[4][1]
Defection to France
[edit]On 21 October 2010, al-Mismari fled to France after stopping by Tunisia.[5] 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.[1] His defection was not publicized until 28 November 2010, when Libya issued an international arrest warrant against him.[6] He was arrested in Paris at the request of Libya, which alleged he was involved in embezzlement.[7] 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.[3][1] According to Francois Bechis of the Italian newspaper Libero, al-Mismari gave extensive information while under French custody, claimed that he had connections within Tunisian dissidents, pinpointed the weaknesses of the Gaddafi regime, and was formally seeking asylum in France.[8][9] 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.[10][8]
On 15 December 2010, al-Mismari was released from French custody and his extradition hearing was subsequently postponed as the French judge requested more information from Libya.[11] 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.[12][13][14] 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.[15][16][17]
Due to the Libyan civil war breaking out in February 2011, al-Mismari was never extradited to Libya.[18] In February 2011, one of Gaddafi's sons, Mutassim, allegedly came to Paris to ask him to return to Libya to no avail[19] and al-Mismari subsequently tendered his resignation as chief of protocol from exile.[18] As of 2013, he was still living in Paris.[20]
Libyan Civil War
[edit]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.[21] Ihab was not among the five Libyan diplomats expelled from Canada in May 2011.[22]
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.[23] 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.[24][25]
Posthumous allegations against Gaddafi
[edit]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.[26] He also alleged that Gaddafi harassed the ex-wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Cecilia.[26]
In a 2013 interview with French journalist Annick Cojean, Gaddafi's Chief of Security Mansour Dhao accused al-Mismari and Mabrouka Sherif of being the primary facilitators of Gaddafi's alleged "sexual abuse". Dhao also accused al-Mismari of procuring prostitutes for Gaddafi and practicing black magic.[27][28][29][30] al-Mismari was named in Cojean's book Gaddafi's Harem: The Story of a Young Woman and the Abuses of Power in Libya.[28]
In 2014, al-Mismari was interviewed by BBC for the documentary “Mad Dog – Qaddafi’s Secret World," where he alleged that Gaddafi was "terribly sexually deviant", kept underaged male and female sex slaves, and kept the body of Mansour Rashid El-Kikhia, former Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a freezer.[31]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ben Hassouna, Abdelaziz (2010-12-07). "Fin de partie pour Mesmari – Jeune Afrique" [Game over for Mesmari]. JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ↑ Pidd, Helen (2013-02-09). "How Colonel Gaddafi helped to get my daughter back". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- 1 2 "Arrested Gaddafi's top aide says was "set up"". Reuters. 2010-12-02. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ↑ "LIBYA : Looking for Nouri Mesmari - 18/11/2010 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
The comings and goings of Nouri Mesmari have been stirring a lot of curiosity in recent weeks. The protocol chief of Muammer Kadhafi, who seemed to be joined at the hip with Libya's leader, travelled to France at the end of October, passing by way of Tunisia. Officially, Mesmari, who suffers from a chronic illness, came to Paris for an operation. His wife and daughter indeed visited him, staying for a while at the Concorde Lafayette hotel in Paris. He has since dropped out of sight. Mesmari, who reportedly wants to go into retirement, is one of Kadhafi's closest confidantes and knows pretty well all of his secrets.
- ↑ "LIBYA : Nouri Mesmari - 21/10/2010 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
Muammar Gaddafi's chief of protocol, Nouri Mesmari, is currently in Paris after stopping off in Tunisia.
- ↑ "Ex-Gaddafi aide's daughters kidnapped". News24. 2011-02-24. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "Libyan leader Gaddafi's close aide 'held in France'". www.telegraph.co.uk. 2010-12-01. Archived from the original on 2025-05-16. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- 1 2 "LIBYA : Nuri Mesmari - 09/12/2010 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2010-12-09. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
Nuri Mesmari, the Libyan leader's chief of protocol, is still being held in France despite pressure by Tripoli to have him extradited. Fearing for his life, Mesmari has asked for political asylum. Officially, Libya claims he embezzled money. Formerly close to Muammer Kadhafi, he has been described as a "Libyan Wikileak" because of everything he knows about the regime. Anticipating that others might defect, Tripoli is confiscating the passports of several officials, including foreign minister Mussa Kussa, who is also being investigated for fraud.
- ↑ Weissman, Steve (2011-04-14). "Did Sarkozy Set Up Obama's Benghazi Nightmare?". Truthout. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
- ↑ "LIBYA : Mesmari Affair Could Unseat Kussa - 02/12/2010 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi 's protocol chief, Nuri Mesmari, was arrested in France on Nov. 28 under an arrest warrant
- ↑ Provenzano, Lauranne (2010-12-15). "Nouri Mesmari libéré – Jeune Afrique" [Nouri Mesmari released]. JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ↑ "FRANCE/LIBYA : Nuri Mesmari - 16/12/2010 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
Muammer Kadhafi's former chief of protocol, who had been in custody in France since Nov. 29 at the behest of Tripoli for alleged "fraud," has been released. According to our sources, Abdallah Mansour, former head of the Libya's Radio and Television Office, is in Paris to look into the situation. Close to Kadhafi, Mansour is involved in pretty well all of the Kadhafi clan's security matters.
- ↑ "French plans to topple Gaddafi on track since last November". Archives Bellaciao EN 1999-2016. 2011-03-26. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
- ↑ "French plans to topple Gaddafi on track since last November - UK Indymedia". Indymedia. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
- ↑ "LIBYA : Nuri Mesmari - 23/12/2010 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
The protocol chief of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has resumed his normal functions
- ↑ "Raining fire". The Hindu. 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
- ↑ "LIBYA : Benghazi's rising opposition - 17/02/2011 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
Benghazi has long been a thorn in Colonel Kadhafi 's side. Libya's second-largest 'Egyptian' city has historically been a hotbed of rebellion, and it is living up to its reputation. Of eight activists arrested in recent days, six belong to the February 17 Movement, named after the bloody crackdown on anti-government demonstrators in Benghazi on February 17, 2006. They are Farj Charrani, Fathi Boukhris, Ali Ounes Mansouri, Safiddin Hilal Sahrif, Jalal Kouafi, and, of course, [Jamal] Al Hajji.
- 1 2 Irish, John (2011-02-22). "Ex-Gaddafi aide sees bitter fight to the end". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
- ↑ "Kadhafi et ses mercenaires sud-africains" [Gaddafi and his South African mercenaries]. AgoraVox (in French). 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "Under Gaddafi's tent - the book". The Africa Report. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ↑ Poisson, Jayme (2011-02-23). "Libyan Diplomat Resigns in Protest". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28.
- ↑ "Libyan diplomat kicked out of Canada headed intelligence". CBC.ca. 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ "Libyan rebels reportedly repulse loyalists' attack". The Columbus Dispatch. 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ "Berlusconi sent escorts to Col Gaddafi opponent as favour". Deccan Herald. Press Trust of India. 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ Pisa, Nick (6 March 2011). "Berlusconi 'sent escorts to Gaddafi opponent as favour to Libya leader'". www.telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- 1 2 Miller, Elhanan (2012-07-19). "Gaddafi killed anyone who discovered his mother was Jewish, aide claims". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ↑ "Former Muammar Gaddafi security chief Mansour Daw lifts the lid on dictator's harem". The Courier Mail. 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- 1 2 Cojean, Annick (2013-09-22). "Muammar Gaddafi's sexual crimes". Salon. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ↑ Sanai, Leyla (2013-10-24). "Book review: Gaddafi's Harem, By Annick Cojean, trans. Marjolijn de". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ↑ "Gaddafi formed special department to find prostitutes". Business Standard. Indo-Asian News Service. 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ↑ "Muammar Qaddafi's 'sex dungeon' revealed in British documentary". Al Arabiya English. 2014-01-26. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
