Prostitutes Drop Charges Against Libyan Leader’s Nephew

LONDON — Two call girls have dropped assault charges against the nephew of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said yesterday.The two women had alleged they were beaten up by Mohammed al-Sanussi, 26, at his London home on November 17. The women said in court documents that the attack occurred after they tried to leave when a dispute over money erupted. Mr. Sanussi was arrested after police went to the house.One of the women, Karen Etchebery, claimed she was followed shortly after going to police. “I withdrew from the case because I was scared,” she told the Sunday Times and the Daily Mail newspapers.The case began three weeks ago in London’s Blackfriars court, but the judge issued a gag order that shielded Mr. Sanussi’s nationality and all but silenced any coverage of the case. Telephone calls to Judge David Martineau on the reason behind the gag order were not immediately returned yesterday.Mr. Sanussi’s father, Abdullah, is the head of Libya’s intelligence service and Colonel Gadhafi’s brother-in-law.The Libyan government asked the Foreign Office to pass on their “concerns” to prosecutors, according to a British government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Libyan officials also allegedly raised the matter during a trip by a former British prime minister, Tony Blair, to Tripoli when a major gas deal was announced.“The Libyans raised the case with the Foreign Office and wanted us to pass their concerns to director of public prosecutions,” the British government official told the Associated Press, refusing to discuss the contents of the letter sent in July. “It was routine.”The official said the British government would not have interfered in the case.A spokesman for the Libyan government in London declined to comment.During the trial, prosecutors accused Mr. Sanussi of punching Ms. Etchebery, 21, in the face, causing her “sustained complex fractures of the skull’, and bruising Patricia Bech, 25. Ms. Etchebery said in court testimony that Mr. Sanussi hit her in the face. “I don’t think that because somebody pays me to be there they can hit me in the face,” she said in court documents.But Judge Martineau told the jury the case was being dropped after the women changed their minds about giving evidence.“The defendant is somewhat fortunate,” Judge Martineau said during the trial.Mr. Sanussi’s defense lawyers showed the court a video where the two women were allegedly captured discussing the sexual services they offered. The video was taken in March — months after the alleged incident. It was unclear who made the film.

Prostitutes Drop Charges Against Libyan Leader’s Nephew

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