Gaddafi outlined his political philosophy in his Green Book, published in three volumes between 1975 and 1979 to reinforce the ideals of this socialist-Islamic state. In practice, however, Libya’s political system is thought to be somewhat less idealistic, and from time to time, Gaddafi has responded to domestic and external opposition with violence. His revolutionary committees called for the assassination of Libyan dissidents living abroad in April 1980, with Libyan hit squads sent abroad to murder them. On April 26, Gaddafi set a deadline of June 11 for dissidents to return home or be “in the hands of the revolutionary committees.” Nine Libyans were murdered during that time, five of them in Italy.
