Alexandria, Virginia
The Libyan American Alliance (LAA) learned today that militia leader Khalifa Hifter, who is facing several lawsuits in the United States, has hired New York law firm, Tucker Levin PLLC to represent him in the Eastern District Court of Virginia.
It is not clear whether the same firm will represent Hifter in other lawsuits filed against him in Virginia and Washington, DC.
Mr. Faisal Gill, the lawyer retained to represent families of Hifter’s victims in Libya, said Monday that he received communication from the office of Tucker and Levin PLLC, indicating that Hifter retained them to defend him against charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Mr. Gill said, “After ignoring the courts for months, Hifter finally got the message that we are serious about pursuing justice for the victims of his egregious and violent actions. Killing innocent civilians will not go unpunished.
Hifter was facing a default judgment and in light of the evidence against him, we anticipated a judgment in our favor.”
Dr. Esam Omeish, President of the Libyan American Alliance, said, “After the recent defeats of Hifter in his war in Libya, Hifter realized that he needs an exit strategy and possibly a place to escape to, and that explains why he retained a law firm now after months of not answering the charges leveled against him.”
“Notably, Hifter chose to hire a law firm specializing in criminal matters, money laundering, and fraud, in anticipation of other legal troubles due to US investigations of his criminal collaborations with Venezuelan leaders in laundering Libyan state assets,”Dr. Esam added.
“The US government has increasingly condemned Hifter for his harmful dealings with Russian mercenaries and the Wagner Group, made illegal by the CAATSA Act of 2017, as well as his dealings with the bloody Assad regime, recently criminalized by the CAESAR Act of 2020,” concluded Omeish.
Contact:
Dr. Esam Omeish, President of Libyan American Alliance, president@libyanamericanalliance.org
Faisal Gill, Esq., Legal counsel for the victims, fgill@glawoffice.com