Saif Gaddafi trial could be held in Libya
2011-11-25 22:21
The Hague - The trial of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam could be held in Libya under the auspices of the International Criminal Court, its chief prosecutor said Friday.
"The prosecutor proposed as a third possibility that the ICC might, subject to judges' approval, conduct the trial against Saif al-Islam in Libya," Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a document before the Hague-based court.
He also proposed two other options, namely Libya asking the ICC to decide whether a Libyan court could prosecute Seif, or Libyan courts trying Seif for other crimes, for which he is wanted in Libya, with the ICC prosecuting him on a separate charge of crimes against humanity.
The ICC's mandate says it can only prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if a state's national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute them.
Moreno-Ocampo's report to ICC judges follows a visit to Tripoli this week to meet Libyan authorities for talks on jurisdiction in the case.
Muammar Gaddafi's one-time heir apparent, Saif, 39, was caught almost a week ago in Libya's southern Saharan region after three months on the run.
He and Gaddafi's former spymaster, Abdullah al-Senussi, 62, are wanted on ICC arrest warrants issued on June 27 for crimes against humanity when trying to put down the north African country's bloody revolt, sparked in February.
- SAPA