The municipality of Gharyan has filed a lawsuit against producers of "Omar Al-Mukhtar" movie for claims of intentional defamation of Gharyan city, adding that anyone who contributed to the production of the movie would be subject to the lawsuit as well.

The municipality cited the movie's defamation of a political personality from Gharyan known as "Al-Sharif Basha Hamad Al-Gharyani," adding that it trusts Libyan judiciary to exert efforts for the rehabilitation of Al-Sharif Basha who was shown in the movies as a traitor in contrast with history sources that say he was very vital to "Libyan jihad".

The municipality said anyone who has documents and evidence in support of the lawsuit should come forward to its office to help erase the injustice done to Al-Sharif Basha Al-Gharyani that has been ongoing for 40 years.

Omar Al-Mukhtar movie was produced in 1981 and was directed by late Syrian director Mustafa Al-Akkad. World celebrity Anthony Quinn played Omar Al-Mukhtar in a movie that had a budget of about 35 million dollars.

The movie has been a subject of bitter criticism for the depiction of certain figures, as critics say they are not completely authentic and the producers, including "Muammar Gaddafi who funded the project ", of intentionally defaming Al-Gharyani as he represented Senussi Movement at the time.