Libya guarantees Lilu King won’t be executed if extradited

Libya has guaranteed it will not execute or torture the notorious Lilu King if he is extradited from Malta to face charges there, Times of Malta reported on Nov. 8, 2026.

Times of Malta is informed that the Libyan government sent a letter earlier this week amid its attempts to take Mohamed Ali Elmushraty, better known as Lilu King, back to Libya to charge him with murder and drug trafficking.

Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield briefed the media earlier this week that the government had initially received the extradition request in September.

However, he pointed out, Malta needed to have some human rights guarantees before a decision could be made.

Asked for an update, Bedingfield said Libya had provided the needed guarantees.

“I am informed that the Libyan government has sent the needed documents related to their request and, so, the evaluation of the [extradition] process can begin,” he said.

Under Maltese law, no individual can be extradited to a country if he is facing the death penalty. Sources said the letter sent by the Libyan government is a guarantee that Elmushraty will not be executed.

Before extradition proceedings can even begin, several ministries and entities need to give their go-ahead.

First, the foreign ministry needs to forward the extradition request to the police and the attorney general, who must then inform the justice ministry. Justice Minister Clifton Grima must then give the police the “authority to proceed” with the extradition request.

Asked this week about his intentions, Grima said he would sign off on the file immediately as soon as the requirements of the law had been met. 

“I will not think twice for proceedings to continue and the person in question is extradited to his country,” Grima said.

The justice minister’s signature will only mean that court proceedings for Elmushraty’s extradition can begin. In those proceedings, the attorney general must persuade the courts to allow Elmushraty’s extradition while the Libyan national and his legal team can argue against it.

The court’s decision is also subject to appeal.

Once the legal proceedings have been exhausted, the justice minister must again sign off on the extradition order.

Elmushraty, a Paceville entrepreneur who flaunted his wealth on social media, has a long criminal history in Malta.

He is being held in pre-trial detention as he faces proceedings in connection with two pending criminal cases linked to alleged organised crime and money laundering and an alleged violent sexual assault in San Ġwann.

Times of Malta asked Bedingfield on Nov. 4 whether Elmushraty would face proceedings in Malta before extradition.

“He has serious charges in Malta and other very serious charges in Libya. That is why there is a process of evaluation before a decision is made,” he replied.

The minister said the evaluation of the case was still ongoing. “I have my own opinions, but I want to respect the process,” he said.

Bedingfield had announced in September that Elmushraty had been stripped of his refugee status, saying the Maltese state would not be granting humanitarian protection to those who did not deserve it.

“Elmushraty has been informed by officials from the International Protection Agency that he no longer enjoys refugee status he acquired after fleeing his country following the war in Libya in 2011,” Bedingfield said, adding that the pretext of protection no longer applied to him and, therefore, had been removed.