President of the Democracy and Human Rights Foundation, Emadeddin Muntasser, has asked US authorities to investigate a recent court filing by Khalifa Haftar's attorney, who described a memo from the Libyan Ministry of Defence as an official notice from the Libyan Government.

According to Haftar's attorney, the MoD memo states that Haftar is not to disclose military or state secrets, though the Libyan Defence Ministry described the memorandum as a forgery.

"It is counsel’s understanding that this document was provided to counsel to assert the GNU’s position on this issue, i.e. that military secrets should not be disclosed pursuant to the Penal Code. Thus, this serves as official notice from the Libyan Government that Mr. Hifter is not to disclose military or state secrets," Haftar's defence team said in its court filing.

Muntasser indicated that "he expects a court filing to take place very soon and that the court will have to address this matter of possible forgery."

If indeed the memorandum was forged by Haftar, as the GNU statement of denial seems to indicate, Haftar may have to face a criminal investigation and possible criminal charges.

These possible criminal implications of the filing may add pressure on the US Department of Justice, US Attorney General, and the FBI, according to Muntasser.

In October 2017, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) received a complaint and request for an investigation filed by Muntasser, alleging that Khalifa Haftar -as an American citizen- has violated domestic US laws criminalizing involvement in war crimes and torture.

Members of the US Congress have also asked the DOJ in May 2019 to commence such an investigation.

Recently, the US House passed legislation that requires the DOJ to look into crimes committed by US citizens in Libya and report back to Congress on such crimes.