Britain, Gaddafi and the Torture Trail Panorama

After 42 years of tyrannical rule, Colonel Gaddafi is dead. World

leaders marked the mood. To date is a day to remember of Colonel

Gaddafi's victims. But one of his most ruthless henchman is still on

the run. We tracked him down to his five star hideaway in the sun.

Moussa Koussa helped prop up the Gaddafi regime for four decades but

he was also Britain's secret friend. Tonight, how we colluded with him.

Whilst he was organising torture, and even inflicting abuse himself.

TRANSLATION: While I was being questioned, Moussa Koussa was

shocking me in the neck with the electric rod. I am for the first

time, the secret torture tapes, incontrovertible proof of Gaddafi's

Five-star luxury at a hotel in Qatar. Among the international

businessmen and jet-setting playboy it is this man, Moussa Koussa. He

was one of Colonel Gaddafi's inner circle, a ruthless spy chief

trusted with the security of the country and stamping out dissent.

He is now on the run, but what is intriguing is that when he fled

Libya at the start of the uprising, he chose to defect to Britain.

Couser is still being questioned at a secret location tonight, and is

said to be in a fragile state of mind. His resignation shows

Gaddafi's regime is fragmented, under pressure, and crumbling from

within. Moussa Koussa was at the heart of Gaddafi's regime. It has

long been said he was involved with the Lockerbie bombing. He should

also know who was responsible for the shooting of policewoman Yvonne

Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in 1984. So his defection here in

March was an opportunity to get to the truth. Moussa Koussa is

responsible for the deaths of 270 innocent civilians, as well as

thousands of his own people as part of the Gaddafi regime. He has to be

held accountable for my brother's death and the death of thousands of

others. Now, with Gaddafi dead, Moussa Koussa is the guardian of

many of Libya's secret. So why, with little explanation, did

Britain let him go? Now free, Libya is still surrendering its secrets.

For four decades, it was closed to the world. In recent years, we saw

only a reformed clown, a fading tyrant with pantomime policies

sitting on and -- a lake of oil, but this was a nation terrorised by

secret police when neighbours informed on each other. Now, those

he wants targeted are the ones in charge. In Tripoli four weeks ago,

I was invited out with a team whose job it was to capture remnants from

the former regime. They were hunting 25 of Gaddafi's armed

supporters, hiding out in a These are the very people who were

being rounded up and captured by Gaddafi regime loyalist until weeks

ago, and now they are the ones doing the hunting. An informant had

already told them their quarry would fight to the death. Then,

incoming fire. These buildings are dangerous because they are the

hiding place for torturers and guards, people who once worked in

Libya's notorious political prison just around the corner. It is in

the south of Tripoli, and cities where Gaddafi used to dump his

political opponents, real and imagined. Nearly everybody you

speak to in Libya has some dark story about what happened to a

friend or relative behind these walls. This is Abu Salim prison and

his symbol of the unbridled When Tripoli fell, the inmates of

Abu Salim prison began freeing themselves. They hacked open doors

with anything they could find. You can see the desperate faces of

people who had been locked away here for up to 30 years. One of

them was this man, Sami Al Saadi. Get your bearings. This was it?

was brought here for being the deputy leader of the fighting group

intent on assassinating Gaddafi. He was hauled in front of a kangaroo

This is the uniform you walk? How do You Know they were happy - were

they smiling? Whilst on death row, Sami was interrogated and tortured,

but remarkably it was the UK which helped to send him here. Into the

hands of Moussa Koussa, who then ran Libya's intelligence service.

Moussa Koussa once lived in London. In 1980, he was the Libyan

ambassador. But he was expelled for backing a plan to murder two of

Gaddafi's opponents living in the UK. His official role for more than

a decade was Libya's chief of spies. After Tripoli fell, his old offices

were abandoned, but some documents survived the torching. They expose

Libya's secret relationship with the UK. In a series of letters

between Moussa Koussa and MI6. These documents are extraordinary.

They show the real detail of the secret relationship between Britain

and America, and Gaddafi's police state. What is amazing is the tone

of them, the friendliness. They are cosy and smock at some stages, and

I guess the people who wrote them thought they would never see the

light of day. They show one senior MI6 officer looking forward to

having lunch with Moussa Koussa over Christmas, and signing the

letter off with "your friend". They also show British spies were

engaged in something sinister, something illegal. The letters show

that our secret services colluded with Moussa Koussa to kidnap Sami

Al Saadi and others. They were Gaddafi his political opponents

living abroad, and at the height of the war on terror, Britain

considered them terrorists. In fact, back in the 90s, Sami had lived in

London and been given political But after he left, MI6 became

suspicious about his Islamist connections. They helped arrange

for him to be snatched from an airport in the Far East and return

to Libya and Moussa Koussa. Sami and his wife were bundled onto a

plane with their four young In a very same week, we handed Sami

over in 2004, Tony Blair arrived to meet Gaddafi in the desert. He was

our new ally in the war against terror. In the background, our

friend Moussa Koussa. As Tony Blair enjoyed the hospitality, Moussa

Koussa found time to slip away with a -- for a chat with the newly

Other documents show just how close the relationship was becoming. In

one, a senior MI6 officer said the rendition of a Gaddafi opponent was

the least we can do for you, and described the business simply as

cargo. But how was that cargo which we had helped deliver treated once

it arrived in Abu Salim prison? Libya was giving reassurances that

after rendition, none of these prisoners would face any harm. But

what were those reassurances really worth? We were dealing with a

secretive police state notorious for torturing and murdering its

political opponents, and yet we were sending people back here on

trust. Earlier this month, I was out with this team again in Tripoli.

They thought they had found another part of Libya's former spy network,

a local security office. They are not even looking for people to a

rest, they are trying to find stashes of secret documents that

are still emerging around Tripoli. Inside, mobile prisons used to

house captured opponents. Shelves of intelligence used to incriminate

them. But, elsewhere, they found something more chilling. Among the

team today, a man who was himself an inmate at Abu Salim prison. He

was tortured with electric shocks. Some of the equipment they have

ceased is sickeningly familiar to him. TRANSLATION: This is an

electric rod which they started torturing me with from the first

day. They pressed it on my chest and used the electric roared on my

chest. I kept saying I don't know anything. Panorama has now

discovered evidence which supports his claims. The regime that we were

doing secret deals with was filming It's torture. The evidence comes

from a burnt-out ruins of Abu Salim prison itself. Amongst the debris,

some crucial evidence survived. We have acquired hours of footage

which shows the truth about how this regime treated some of its

political opponents. It is chilling stuff, much of it far too gruesome

to broadcast, but we can show you some. This was filmed in May this

year. A prisoner blindfolded and Them than in the suit is from

something called the Interrogation Committee -- the man. In the 1980s,

Moussa Koussa was said to be its director. This footage was a small

fraction of what we found. There are more whippings, electric shocks,

beatings. All of which reinforce the claims of others. Like my --

like Nouri. He used to work for Moussa Koussa in the Security

Service that he was suspected of being a double agent and working

for foreign spy networks. TRANSLATION: there were nine or 10

beatings, my body died and I couldn't feel anything anymore. But

then they grabbed a metal instrument, which is a type of

stapler used by traders to staple large cardboard boxes, and they

began to, I apologise to the review is about this, they put my

testicles inside the stapler and then they pressed -- I apologise to

the viewers. Even before the torture started, Nouri had been

paraded in front of his old boss, Moussa Koussa, the Jaouad Gharib

would invite to Christmas lunch. -- the man that MI6 would invite to

Christmas lunch. He was sitting down and he was very relaxed. I was

in and really sad state. He was leading the session and everyone

was sitting in their own chef. -- share. But he didn't know you were

being badly treated? TRANSLATION: He knew I had been

tortured and that my honour had been violated. He knew that well.

Tonight we can show that Britain's friend, Moussa Koussa, was attached

to the bloodiest massacre of Gaddafi's regime. When we searched

former intelligence offices bombed out by NATO, we managed to salvage

some of the regime's surveillance They show men gathering outside a

mosque. Gaddafi didn't just round up political opponents but

religious ones, too. This was taken during one of his random clampdowns

on Muslims. They picked up those who appear the most devout and

jailed them. Some were never seen This man was one of those arrested.

Today, picking up his young son from school, few know what he went

through as an inmate at Abu Salim At the time, Abdul Atti was a 24-

year-old a moderate Muslim. He was taken to Abu Salim with no idea

when he would be released. Conditions were even worse in 1996.

Malnutrition, no medicine, no electricity, no clean water. One

day, a group of young inmates rebelled.

TRANSLATION: The prison guard opened the door, they took the keys

from him and beat him up and they tried to escape. The young man came

out, then they came out and set off. They were aiming to escape but the

door was locked. They couldn't get out. People that his machine gun. -

- he pulled out his machine gun. Hundreds of prisoners were herded

into the courtyards. The guards moved to the drift of walkways,

machine guns trained on the inmates below. Shortly after 11 o'clock,

they were awarded to fire. -- ordered to fire.

TRANSLATION: We heard screams and beatings and from 11 o'clock to

1:30pm, we heard continuous beatings. We did not know what

happened exactly and how many were killed. We didn't guess that they

killed just about everyone. More than 1200 inmates were slaughtered

that day. It took nearly three hours. Abdul Atti only survived

because he was hidden by a sympathetic guard. Now, Panorama

can reveal that one of the regime's inner circle present as the

massacre unfolded was Moussa Koussa or, at the time, chief of spies.

This man, Muftah, saw him. He spent nearly two decades in jail. Eight

years of it in isolation. He still had just a hole in the

ceiling for light. On the day of the massacre, Muftah was

negotiating face-to-face with Moussa Koussa on behalf of the

prisoners. TRANSLATION: Moussa Koussa was

careful to make sure he was present from the beginning and he made

threats and said to me personally, you don't deserve to live. He often

made threats. Moussa Koussa was there and he was among those who

promise the prisoners that if they went back to their cells, nothing

would happen to them. But they were betrayed. They killed 1200

prisoners and Moussa Koussa was amongst those who carried

responsibility for this massacre. When Moussa Koussa came to Abu

Salim Prison, people say he used these rooms as his offices. Often,

he would leave the interrogation to his juniors and he would sit here

and wait for the victim to be delivered with confession into his

presence. On other occasions, he would be the one delivering the

blows. TRANSLATION: First be stripped me

and while I was being questioned, Moussa Koussa was shocking me on

the neck with the electric rod and while I was talking he taught me,

shut up, and he struck me with the electric rod on my tooth and broke

it. The man the UK made deals with over rendition and to give

assurances there would be no torture had actually tortured

people himself. Weeks into the Libyan uprising, Moussa Koussa

began to make his move. He arrived at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli to

renounce a bogus ceasefire on It was a rare public appearance

from such a secretive figure, by now Gaddafi's foreign minister. At

the time, his colleagues were shouting for the blood of rebels

but those present said Moussa Koussa or looked uncomfortable,

shaky even. He was clearly struggling to toe the party line.

Now we know why. These were his last days in Libya. Soon after, he

slipped away. He crossed the border into Tunisia and then onto a

country he trusted, with whom he had done grubby business before:

The UK. He arrived by private jet at Farnborough air base and was

then whisked off to a safe house. He was protected by special bronze

offices and agreed to be interviewed briefly by Lockerbie

investigators -- Special Branch officers. As a reward for his

defection, his assets in the West were unfrozen. Now he could tap

into his significant wealth. Good afternoon. The government came

under pressure over questions about white Moussa Koussa haven't been

arrested. They promised there had been no secret deal. Let me be

clear, Moussa Koussa is not being granted immunity. There is no deal

of that kind. There is no immunity from prosecution, there will be no

immunity. He hasn't asked for that. BBC News arranged and night-time

meeting with Moussa Koussa through British officials. They weren't

allowed questions, there would just be a statement.

TRANSLATION: I personally have relations and good relations with

so many Britons. We worked together against terrorism. Then, Moussa

Koussa said he was off, just for a few days, for a meeting about the

future of Libya, to be held in the Gulf state of Qatar. The British

Government allowed him to leave. He never came back. When we asked the

Foreign Office why they allowed Moussa Koussa to go on his

apparently endless trip to Qatar, they said, Moussa Koussa is a

private individual who is free to travel to and from the UK. It is

not our place to provide a running commentary on his movements and

current activities. But when we asked for reassurance he was going

to come back, maybe sent somebody with him, same response. "it is not

our placed to provide a running commentary". What about torture?

They said, we never condoned torture. As for the specific

allegations, there is something unique to take up with the Libyan

authorities. -- those are things you need to take up. It was up to

us to find him. We suspected he was still in Qatar, the tiny Arab

emirate in the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the UK let him go because

he knew secrets which the British Government would prefer never to

have surfaced. A man with his wealth would choose only the most

exclusive and discreet of places. We found him in a five-star hotel

in Doha. And here he is. In the corner of the restaurant. Scouring

the room for anyone suspicious. On the right of the screen, it is his

bodyguard. He knows Moussa Koussa could be assassinated at any moment.

Hello, Mr Koussa. BBC Television. How many people are you responsible

for torturing, Mr Koussa? How many people are you responsible for

torturing? These are all questions the International Criminal Courts...

These are... Excuse me. I want to know his role in the massacre of

more than 1,000 people in 1996, that is all I want to know. Mr

Koussa. I am interested in your role of the massacre of 1,000

people in 1996. Were you involved? Go! Qatar the government security

intervened and confiscated our footage but what they didn't

realise was that we have secretly filmed with another two cameras.

With all the rest of Gaddafi's family and inner circle either dead

or on the run, there are bound to be more questions about why such an

important figure was allowed to leave the UK.

TRANSLATION: Moussa Koussa, to be honest, Western governments should

know the truth about him. He is a murderer and the criminal and his

only concern was that his corrupt regime, which ruled Libya with iron

and fire, should remain in power. This is why it is imperative that

the West must hand over this criminal to justice and he must

receive his punishment. Back in Libya, on rough desert behind Abu

Salim Prison, Abdul Atti is searching for the body of his

brother. He was killed in the prison massacre.

TRANSLATION: My brother was a really beloved man in every sense

of that word. He knew God's book. He was a much better man than I am

Sami is here, too. The Gaddafi opponent jailed after a deal

between Britain and Moussa Koussa. He had two brothers killed in the

same event. Now families are digging for the bodies of more than

1,000 missing inmates. The earth is starting to surrender its secrets

but the truth about Gaddafi's murderous regime lies with those

still living, the people who committed these crimes against

humanity and to commit in the end, we have to account for what they

did. -- and who, in the end. On Thursday, a Panorama special,