Al-Koni warns against implementing decisions on general intelligence leadership

Presidential Council Deputy Head Mossa Al-Koni has sent a letter to the Attorney General, the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, and the heads of the Audit Bureau and the Administrative Control Authority, stating that he neither approved nor signed any decision concerning the dismissal or appointment of the head of the General Intelligence Service.

Al-Koni said that any decision attributed to the Presidential Council on this matter carries no legal effect unless it is issued collectively by the Council in accordance with the provisions of the Libyan Political Agreement. He warned against taking any executive measures based on such decisions, particularly those involving changes to the officials authorized to sign on the agency’s financial accounts.

He further stressed that any action involving public funds or the intelligence agency’s financial accounts based on what he described as a “legally null and void” decision, or allowing an unauthorized person to manage them, would constitute a legal violation subject to accountability.

In a separate statement addressed to members of the Libyan Intelligence Service, Al-Koni said the agency’s legal and administrative status would remain unchanged until the proper legal procedures are completed and consensus is reached on appointing its leadership in accordance with the rules governing the Presidential Council.

He urged intelligence personnel to continue performing their national duties with professionalism and discipline, while refraining from complying with any administrative or financial instructions that could undermine the agency’s legal status or institutional unity outside the applicable legal framework. He also called for maintaining institutional discipline in the interest of national security.

Last Monday, the Presidential Council, chaired by Mohammed Menfi, issued three decisions dismissing Hussein Al-Ayeb as head of the Libyan Intelligence Service, appointing Abdulmajid Al-Maliqta as the new chief, and naming Abdulshafi Bouzlaa as deputy chief for general affairs and external communications.