The Judge at the East Virginia District Court in the United States, Leonie Brinkema, has set October 28 as the final date for hearing Khalifa Haftar’s defense and response to the victims’ questions in the case filed against him for committing war crimes an crimes against humanity in Libya.
Warlord Haftar is a defendant in multiple federal lawsuits in Virginia, where he and his family members had been living for over two decades and owned a variety of properties. Haftar is a dual Libyan-American citizen.
Haftar sought earlier this month to block the court hearing and avoid attending to answer the victims families’ questions; in court papers, his lawyers argue that requiring him to answer questions would force him to violate Libyan law by disclosing state secrets, subjecting him to a possible death sentence.
On Thursday, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema again rejected Haftar’s argument, and set an October 28 deadline for the deposition to take place.
