The hostage of Ghadhafi settles | NZZ

He spent nearly two years in Libyan prison because the dictator Muammar Gaddafi wanted revenge on Switzerland. Max Göldi is currently publishing his newspaper and severely criticizing the Swiss authorities and the Federal Councilors.

Lucien Scherrer 31.10.2018, 05:30 am

The worst was the uncertainty: the ex-hostage Max Göldi, photographed in the woods near Gockhausen. (Image: Christoph Ruckstuhl / NZZ)

"I think I gained weight One hour of exercise a day is not enough The large amount of fatty food with small vegetables and Pepsi-Coca-Cola constantly high calorie, that's crap. "(Max Göldi's prison notes)

The three Libyan officials arrive on a Saturday and, above all, they appear punctually. In a country like Libya, it is a matter of concern, especially since a "tomorrow" is often called "next week" or "never at all". The trio wants to quickly see five official documents, which would need the office of the ABB industrial group in Tripoli, but can not fully show. A few hours later, Max Göldi, a member of the ABB group, is arrested and sent to prison, where several employees of Swiss companies are already sleepy on their bed.

The computer scientist does not yet suspect that July 19, 2008 will be the first of nearly 700 days in captivity. Like most victims of Kafkaesque productions, he believes in a misunderstanding or at least a quick fix. "I am confident," he wrote in his diary, "that Switzerland will quickly do what it takes to appease angry Libyans as soon as possible."

As evidenced by the hunting trophies

But it is well known that Göldi and the double citizen and Tunisian-Swiss businessman Rachid Hamdani are detained for months. They force them to prepare for the Swiss embbady in Tripoli surrounded by members of the secret services, to lock them in cells filled with badroaches, to implicate them in grotesque lawsuits and to publicly show them as trophies during the day. A safari.

All this because the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi wants to take revenge on Switzerland for having arrested his brutal son Hannibal and his wife on July 15, 2008 in Geneva. It is only when several Member States of the European Union have relentlessly supported Switzerland, in this war of nerves, new antics, new demands and false promises, that Göldi was released on the 14th. June 2010 as the last hostage.

Gaddafi's revenge in the newspaper of a hostage. Max Göldi, Dictionary, 2018, 616 p.

What he's all experienced, describes this 63-year-old man in his book "Gaddafi's revenge – taken from a hostage's diary", published this Wednesday in the dictionary edition house. and based on his diary notes. Göldi is a reserved man, in the spotlight of the media rather unpleasant. "I'm not looking for that, but I now have to stop to promote my book," he said at a meeting. The book project also has a therapeutic purpose for him and his wife because "something like" the Libyan adventure never lets go, of course. But: "It's not like I keep thinking about it."

Even in his more than 600-page report, the former ABB representative hardly ever falls into a lucrative atmosphere, despite his helplessness, anger and despair. On the contrary, it still reveals a sense of arid humor and a penchant for sarcasm, especially when it comes to "Papi Gaddafi", Libyan authorities or Swiss diplomats. "It's totally incomprehensible to me," he laughs as a diplomat goes to tears from Libya. "I would rejoice with joy." He calls himself "Karl Marx" and "Baghwan" for his sometimes sumptuous beards.

Plan B: Get away with the jet ski

Although Göldi does not provide a detailed account of the so-called Libyan crisis, it would have required many interviews, such as diplomats and politicians. But he points out how difficult it was for Switzerland to cope with an unpredictable dictator who allowed himself to be celebrated by his subjects as the "king of kings" – and who demanded either an apology, money, or dissolution of Switzerland for the restoration of the honor of his family.

Switzerland, as Göldi already sees it in Libya, should have acted from the beginning "much more difficult", with immediate restrictions on visas and the participation of EU friendly member states. As we know today, the Federal Council is working in the background on a plan B (military) release of hostages, which unfortunately also learns Colonel Ghadhafi.

At the request of a Swiss defense attaché, Göldi must even buy a jet ski and spend the night in international waters, but with all these projects, there are still problems. Switzerland, writes the ABB manager in March 2009 since his "golden cage" of the Swiss embbady to the then federal president, Hans-Rudolf Merz (fdp.), Has "too little" for him and Hamdani campaigned. And: the constant fear of a "new arbitrary arrest, total uncertainty, helplessness and long and fruitless negotiations are extremely stressful for me and my family".

Many reprimands for the "selfish" of Geneva

While Göldi's book reads in places like an agreement with Swiss diplomacy – their representatives, we learn, are kind, but in reality "completely overwhelmed", and as soon as you need them, they prefer to spend the holidays or playing golf – Hans-Rudolf Merz is doing pretty well. This is all the more surprising as the FDP politician is covered with ridicule, malice and demands for resignation at the height of the Libyan crisis. Merz arbitrarily goes to Libya in August 2009 to sign a contract to solve all the problems. but instead of the hostages, he finally returns empty-handed.

"Merz has shown great courage," Göldi writes in his diary, saying he was guided by his conscience, even though, according to polls, he finds a large majority " shit "about what he did. In addition, he expects the alleged Buhmann to respond today to his appeals for help from Tripoli, unlike the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Micheline Calmy- Rey (sp.), Who just did not leave email. "Unprofessional", as Göldi says so far, even though "MCR" contributed a lot to his release.

Göldi is particularly harsh for the Geneva authorities because, in his opinion, these "egoists" have foiled all attempts at unification, without even worrying about the consequences for the hostages. In September 2009, Göldi and Hamdani were lured to a hospital on a pretext, dragged into a black Mercedes by "sinister guys" and taken to a secret prison for several weeks. A few days earlier, the "Tribune de Genève" had published photos of Hannibal Ghadhafi's arrest by the police – another "humiliation" for which Göldi and Hamdani had to acquit themselves.

Capable of everything

The kidnapping is the worst thing that can happen to Göldi in Libya. However, the Swiss are always aware that Gaddafi's captors are capable of anything, even if they treat him (for the moment) with a reasonable tone. In prison, he learns that prisoners were beaten or shot at dawn. And then there is the fact that just before the quarrel with Switzerland, the Libyan regime had organized a smear show much worse: under the pretext of spreading AIDS, five Bulgarian nurses are imprisoned for years, tortured and released in 2007 .

"Today," says Göldi, "I have worked much better than nurses, but there are also many parallels, starting with the absurd statements of the regime." The "small state of Switzerland", he concludes, obviously has "only limited possibilities" to defend its legitimate concerns, but also those in distress abroad. This is also the reason why the globe-trotter, once an adventurer, avoids some countries, even today, as a tourist. He has been retired for two years and lives in a Far Eastern country. In which, he does not want to betray. Only so much: "This is certainly not a dictatorship."