Geneva denies compensating Gaddafi

No compensation has been paid to the Gaddafi family, the government of Geneva said on Monday, denying earlier reports from Tripoli.

The confusion arises from the publication in a Geneva newspaper of police photos of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, which a Swiss court ruled in April to have been illegal.

Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa said on Sunday that the Swiss justice authorities had decided that the family should receive nearly €1.5 million (SFr 2 million) in compensation and that this had already been paid.

A statement issued by the Geneva government says it “categorically denies having paid the smallest sum in the context of this dispute”.

A “plan of action” signed on behalf of the Swiss and Libyan governments in Tripoli on Sunday contains a Swiss apology for the publication, and says if the person responsible is not found and brought to justice, compensation “in an amount agreed to by both parties” will be paid by the Swiss government.

The Geneva government statement welcomed the return of Swiss hostage Max Göldi and said it had “taken note” of the decision to set up an arbitration tribunal to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi in a Geneva hotel in July 2008.

The brief detention of Hannibal and his wife, on suspicion of mistreating two of their servants, triggered the Swiss-Libyan crisis which included the four-month imprisonment of Göldi.

swissinfo.ch and agencies