Tunisia's president has set conditions for handing over Libya's prime minister under ousted ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

On his first state visit to Libya, President Moncef Marzouki said Tunisia, which is holding Baghdadi al-Mahmudi, would have to be assured that he would receive a fair trial and not be harmed.

Mr Marzouki told a joint news conference in Tripoli with Libyan leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil yesterday that the ex-premier could be handed over for trial in Libya "after establishing a democratic state and civil institutions".

Gaddafi was captured and killed in October and Libya insists it will try his captured son, Saif al-Islam, though the country does not yet have a functioning judicial system.

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