The Tripoli Court of Appeal issued its final ruling confirming evidence that Farhat Bengdara, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), holds the citizenship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The court annulled all decisions and actions issued by Bengdara in his capacity as NOC Chairman based on the proof that he holds UAE citizenship, in violation of Libyan Citizenship Law No. 24 of 2010. It confirmed that acquiring a foreign nationality without complying with legal controls leads to the loss of Libyan citizenship, which results in the loss of legal legitimacy to hold public office, especially sovereign positions that require full loyalty to the state.
It considered all actions issued by Bengdara while he held his office to be null and void, and described his assumption of office as a "usurpation of power." The plaintiff also submitted documents proving Bengdara of Emirati citizenship, which were not challenged by the relevant authorities, so the court considered them conclusive evidence.
The NOC described the issue of its chairman obtaining Emirati citizenship as "untrue", and that the subject of the case is actually an appeal to cancel a decision to transfer an employee, which was confirmed by the ruling and stipulates the return of an employee to his previous job, and did not stipulate "what was falsely stated on a number of social media pages". According to a statement by the NOC on its Facebook page, Bengdara filed a complaint against the plaintiff and his lawyer "for falsely claiming that he holds Emirati citizenship".
