US judge dismisses cases against Libyan commander accused of war crimes

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia – A US judge has dismissed a series of civil lawsuits against a Libyan military commander who lived in Virginia and was accused of killing innocent civilians in that country’s civil war.

At a court hearing on Friday, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she did not have jurisdiction to preside over a case alleging war crimes committed in Libya, despite the defendant, Khailfa Hifter, having US citizenship and living for over 20 years in Northern Virginia. suburbs of the country’s capital as an exile from the Muammar Gadhafi regime.

The decision was a significant reversal of fortunes for Hifter. In 2022, Brinkema handed down a sentence in absentia against Hifter after he refused to appear for scheduled testimonies about his role in the fighting that ravaged the country over the last decade.

But Hifter hired new lawyers who persuaded the judge to reopen the case and made Hifter available to be deposed. He gave two separate statements in 2022 and 2023 and denied orchestrating attacks against civilians.

Once Gaddafi’s lieutenant, Hifter defected to the US during the 1980s. He is believed to have worked for the CIA during his time in exile.

He returned to Libya in 2011 to support the anti-Gaddafi forces who rose up against the dictator and killed him. During the country’s civil war, he led the self-styled Libyan National Army, which controlled much of Libya’s eastern half, with support from countries including Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He continues to dominate the eastern half of the country.

In the lawsuits, first filed in 2019, the plaintiffs claim that family members were killed in military bombings conducted by Hifter’s army in civilian areas.

The lawsuits also alleged that Hifter and his family owned a significant amount of property in Virginia, which could have been used to pay any judgment that would have been entered against him.

Although the lawsuits were dismissed due to technical jurisdiction issues, one of Hifter’s lawyers, Paul Kamenar, said Hifter denied any role in the civilian deaths.

“He’s not the ruthless figure everyone wants to portray him as,” Kamenar said in a phone interview Sunday.

Faisal Gill, a lawyer for plaintiffs in one of the three lawsuits Brinkema dismissed on Friday, said he plans to appeal the dismissal.

Mark Zaid, a lawyer for another group of plaintiffs, called Brinkema’s decision disconcerting and said he believed the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case had already been established at an earlier stage in the case.

“A US citizen has committed war crimes abroad and has so far escaped civil liability,” Zaid said Sunday in an emailed statement.

In court documents, Hifter attempted to claim immunity from actions as head of state. At one point, the judge suspended the cases because she feared the proceedings were being used to influence scheduled presidential elections in Libya, in which Hifter was a candidate. These elections were later postponed.