The lawyers of former Libyan PM Baghdadi Mahmoudi called on Monday for his release pending a hearing on Nov. 22 when a Tunisian court will examine a Libyan request to extradite him, the state-run press agency TAP reported on Tuesday.

Mahmoudi's Tunisian defense team which is composed of some 50 lawyers said that their client is sought by Libyan authorities for political reasons, adding they opposed the extradition request fearing for his life in Libya.

The Libyan extradition request file was insubstantial, one of the lawyers said. He also expressed his surprise that Mahmoudi has remained in custody in spite of a provisional release order issued by the court on Oct. 27, and denounced the intervention of the Tunisian government in the affair, TAP said.

Mahmoudi's defense also expressed concern at their client's deteriorating health.

The former Libyan prime minister was arrested on Sept. 22 under a warrant from the new Libyan authorities, as he was trying to cross into neighboring Algeria along with two of his aides.

Tunisia and Libya are bound by an extradition treaty signed in 1961.