Mansour Rashid El-Kikhia

Mansour Rashid Kikhia (also spelled Mansur), (د. منصور الكيخيا; December 1931 – c. 1993) was the Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs (1972-1973), Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations, Permanent Libyan Representative to the United Nations, and later an opposition figure to Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi, and human rights activist.[1] He was born in Benghazi, Libya.[2]

Disappearance in Egypt

In 1993 eyewitnesses at the time reported that he was abducted by three men in a black limousine with diplomatic license plate a few yards from the Cairo Hotel Safir where he was staying. Neither the Egyptian nor the Libyan authorities have issued reports or claimed responsibility regarding this forced disappearance, ever.[3] A four-year investigation conducted by the CIA produced convincing evidence that Egyptian agents staged the abduction and then handed over al-Kikhia to the Libyan authorities, who executed him.[4] His remains were found in Libya in 2012.[5]

Egyptian government accusations

The similarity between Reda Helal and Kikhia cases has raised widespread suspicion about the involvement of high-ranking Egyptian officials. Kikhia's lawyer does not rule out Libyan and American involvement in his disappearance.[6] The recent arrest in London of a highly respected Egyptian engineer, Professor Momdouh Hamza, has implicated four top Egyptian officials with close ties to the Mubarak family and re-opened the rumor mill in Cairo. For years Egyptians have heard of forced disappearance of public figures elsewhere in the region (e.g. Iraq, Syria and Libya) but not their own.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dr Saad Eddin Ibrahim, "The Case of a Missing Egyptian Journalist," Ibn Khaldun center for development studies (ICDS) (2000).
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Egyptian court issues judgment for Egyptian Ministry of Interior on compensation for Mansur El-Kikhia disappearance," Arabic News.com (4/8/1999)
  4. ↑ Jim Hoagland, "Egypt, Libya Linked to Abduction," Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, Sept. 28, 1997; Page A01
  5. ↑ "Mansour Al-Kikhia family calls for answers "
  6. ↑ "Al Kikhya's lawyer does not rule out Libyan and US involvement in his disappearance," ArabicNews.com (10/28/1997)
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