Lawyers have long argued Baghdadi al-Mahmudi would be executed if returned to Libya Tunis - Nabil Zaghdoud  A war of words over the extradition of Muammar Gaddafi's  last prime minister, Baghdadi Mahmoudi  broke out on Sunday evening in a series of statements issued by assorted parties with an invested interested in the case.
"We consider this decision [to extradite Mahmoudi] to be illegal and illegitimate," said Adnan Manser, spokesperson for President Moncef Marzouki.
"This represents a threat to the political stability in Tunisia. We hold the prime minister accountable for this situation. The crisis has begun. This decision is not legitimate and puts an end to the consensus that we had."
The Tunisian president previously reiterated his rejection to sign the extradition order for Mahmoudi, due to concerns about the latter's safety.
The decision to extradite lies with the president, argued Manser together with Mabrouk Kourchid, one of Mahmoudi’s defence lawyers who said:
"This is a blow to democracy in Tunisia. This is also a blow to the troika government,” continued Kourchid. "All international organisations have assured us that there will be no fair trial for Mahmoudi in Libya. We are afraid that he will be tortured there. We are afraid that he might be killed. We are afraid of revenge. Why didn’t Chad extradite him? Why didn’t Egypt extradite him? Why is it that only Tunisia would do this?"
On the other hand, the government has defended its position saying that the extradition was agreed following a long debate in parliament according to a
representative of Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who added that a Tunisian committee charged with determining the fairness of judicial proceedings in Libya has ensured a fair trial for Mahmoudi. He was dismissive about allegations of secret deals between the two governments, saying "we have treaties, but no deals."
Alluding to the country’s on-going struggle to bring justice to Tunisia’s deposed dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, he continued, "We are demanding the extradition of Ben Ali to our country. Why shouldn't we give the same rights to Libya?”
Mahmoudi was extradited to Libya earlier on Sunday. His detention and possible extradition has been a contentious issue between political parties in Tunisia and the governments of both Tunisia and Libya for several months. Numerous international rights groups have raised concerns about the fairness of criminal proceedings against Mahmoudi.