HRW urges Libya to reveal fate of Lebanese Shiite cleric Sadr

Human Rights Watch has urged Libya to reveal the fate of missing people in the country, including the prominent Shiite cleric Imam Moussa Sadr.

The call by the New York-based rights watchdog comes as the 22nd Arab League summit opens in Libya with Israel’s expansion policies in Jerusalem high on its agenda.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has boycotted the summit in Sirte amid a lingering dispute with Libya over the disappearance of Sadr. The Lebanese cabinet decided to designate country’s envoy to the Arab League in Cairo as its representative at the summit.

Sadr vanished on August 31, 1978, while he was reportedly in Tripoli with two companions, who also went missing.

In 2008, Lebanon issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi over Sadr’s disappearance.

Sadr was the founder of the Amal Movement which is now being headed by Speaker Nabih Berri . Berri was the one who spearheaded the campaign of boycotting the summit in Libya.