Algeria has no plans to hand members of Muammar Gaddafi's family over to the new Libyan authorities and will discuss their fate only with UN officials, media reported on Monday.
Libya's National Transitional Council has repeatedly demanded that Gaddafi’s family, including his wife, two sons and his daughter, be extradited to Libya from Algeria to stand trial.
“Algeria will not extradite Gaddafi’s relatives either to Libya or any other country,” Le soir d`Algerie newspaper quoted an informed government source. “They were given refuge [in Algeria] on humanitarian grounds, and their status has not changed.”
“The world has seen how Col. Gaddafi was slaughtered. We have respect for human life, and the ensuring security of Gaddafi’s family is a matter of honor for us,” the source said.
He added that the issue should be resolved only through diplomatic negotiations at the United Nations, as Algeria notified the UN Secretary General and the Security Council of its decision to grant Gaddafi’s family asylum prior to letting them into the country.
Gaddafi's wife Safia, his pregnant daughter Aisha, his sons Hannibal and Mohammed, accompanied by their children, crossed the border into Algeria on August 29.
The daughter, Aisha, delivered a child in an Algerian clinic hours after crossing the border.
The source said members of Gaddafi’s family are kept in a heavily-guarded secret compound.
