‘Blunders’ led to acquittal in Libya mercenaries’ case
The authorities will not appeal a court decision to acquit an arms dealer of allegedly breaching Libya sanctions after a “series of blunders” saw the case fall through, according to sources. James Fenech and four employees were cleared of breaching EU sanctions on war-torn Libya earlier this month. They are believed to have helped a group of private military contractors travel into Libya to carry out a “kidnap or terminate” mission, according to a United Nations report. However, despite the severity of the case, Fenech and his associates walked free of charges last month. This was because the prosecution had failed to prove that the vessels and their outboard motors were on the list of items that need government clearance before being sent to Libya. Since the court judgment last month, the police and government officials have held a number of meetings at the Office of the Attorney General to discuss a legal strategy to appeal the decision. The deadline to appeal, however, closed on Friday afternoon. Sources said “a series of blunders” had been committed by the prosecution and so there was no grounds for appeal. This is the latest in a string of botched prosecutions and...