Saturday, October 29, 2011

ICC in contact with Gaddafi's son on surrender

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today said his office is in indirect contact with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, on his possible surrender to face charges for crimes against humanity.

"Through intermediaries, we have informal contact with Saif," ICC's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement.

"The Office of the Prosecutor has made it clear that if he surrenders to the ICC, he has the right to be heard in court, he is innocent until proven guilty."

In June, The Hague-based ICC had issued arrest warrants against Gaddafi, his son and the country's intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Sanousi for their roles in attacks against protesters, hundreds of whom have been killed since the uprising began early this year against Gaddafi's regime as part of a wider pro- democracy movement across North Africa and the Middle East.

Moreno-Ocampo said his office is galvanising efforts to carry out the arrest warrants against al-Islam and Al Sanousi. A group of mercenaries is offering to move al-Islam to an African country.

His office is also exploring the possibility of intercepting any plane that might be transporting al- Islam in order to make the arrest.

"This is a legal process and if the judges decide that Saif is innocent, or has served his sentence, he can request the judges to send him to a different country as long as that country accepts him," Moreno-Ocampo added.

The prosecutor has said in the past that while Libya is not party to the 1998 Rome Statute, the treaty that had established the ICC, it has the primary responsibility to carry out the arrest warrants in compliance with relevant resolution of the Security Council.

The UN body had referred the crisis in Libya to ICC. Gaddafi was killed last week in his hometown of Sirte during the final days of the eight-month-long conflict.

Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) had on Sunday declared full liberation of the country, days after Gaddafi's death.

The North African nation now faces a host of challenges, including organising an electoral process, establishing public security and starting a reconciliation process.

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