Tunisian appeals court acquits former Libyan PM

A Tunisian appeals court acquitted former Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi of the charge of illegal entry Tuesday evening, the Tunisian radio reported. Mahmudi has been sentenced to six months in jail by a Tunisian court for illegally entering the area near Tamaghza in southern Tunisia with two others. One of Mahmudi's lawyers said the former Libyan official had not infringed any laws and proved that his passport had been stamped legally upon entering the country. The lawyer also confirmed that no official extradition request had been issued by the new Libyan authorities for the former prime minister. Earlier this month, a close aide of the fallen Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, General Khouildi Hamidi, was arrested at Tunis' Carthage international airport while trying to fly to Morocco. Khouildi, who took part in the 1969 coup with Gaddafi, was later acquitted by a Tunisian court.