Libya pledge on Gaddafi son probe
Libya’s transitional leaders have vowed to work with the International Criminal Court and the United Nations in investigating alleged crimes committed by Muammar Gaddafi’s captured son Saif al-Islam.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the court received the formal pledge in a letter from National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he was satisfied with that move, which appears to settle a dispute between the international court and Libyan authorities over which body should try Saif al-Islam with crimes against humanity.
Libya is obliged by a UN Security Council resolution to work with the ICC, but that does not necessarily rule out a trial in Libya.
If the court determines that the country has a functioning legal system that will give Saif al-Islam a fair trial on substantially the same charges as were filed before it, it can leave the case with Libya.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo said the most important thing is for Saif al-Islam, whom he called the “face of the old regime”, to face justice.
The ICC has charged both Saif al-Islam and the Gaddafi-era intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi with crimes against humanity for unleashing the brutal crackdown on an uprising that began in February and spiralled into a civil war.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he understood that it’s “a matter of national pride” for Libya’s leaders to try Saif al-Islam themselves.
He said investigations are under way into the alleged crimes and that he believed it would be ready for trial “in a few months”.
Saif al-Islam is being held by fighters from the Libyan town of Zintan, who flew him there after his capture in southern Libya on Saturday.
