Sami al-Saadi's secret rendition may cost millions in compensation
Officials confirm payout under consideration for dissident who was abducted by Hong Kong authorities and secretly flown to a Libyan jail
Hong Kong could pay compensation to a Libyan dissident whose secret rendition from the city led to his torture in one of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi s jails.
Security and justice officials have confirmed a payout to Sami al-Saadi - which the understands will run to millions of dollars - is being considered.
Saadi claims that he, his wife and four young children were abducted by Hong Kong authorities and forced onto a Tripoli-bound plane in March 2004, after which he was imprisoned and tortured for years.
Government officials have refused to say how much Saadi is seeking, but the understands it to be in the region of HK$26 million, a figure which has raised concerns among lawmakers.
The development comes more than a year after Saadi's lawyers sent a letter to the Department of Justice threatening legal action.
That letter demanded answers about the government's role in the arrest, detention, interrogation and forced repatriation of Saadi and his family, and accused Hong Kong authorities of conspiring with America's Central Intelligence Agency, its British counterpart MI6, and Libyan spies.
Last December, the UK government paid Saadi - a vocal opponent of Gaddafi and considered a terrorist by many Western governments - and his family £2.2 million (HK$26 million) in compensation for the rendition, without admitting any liability.
