Way clear for Gadhafi son's Libya trial
Source: Agencies |
November 24, 2011, Thursday
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THE International Criminal Court won't challenge Libya's right to try Moammar Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent in his own country and with Libyan judges, the prosecutor said yesterday.
The announcement clears the way for Seif al-Islam, the only Gadhafi family member in Libyan custody, to answer for the alleged crimes of his late father's four-decade rule over the oil-rich nation.
The ICC has charged Seif al-Islam and ex-intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi with crimes against humanity.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters that Libya will help establish the judicial framework for the trial, which many expect to be a bellwether of the new Libyan government's ability to uphold the rule of law. The country is also struggling to build its judicial system and other government institutions practically from scratch.
International rights groups have called on Libya to hand both men to the ICC for trial, but Libya's new leaders insist he face justice at home even though they have yet to set up a strong court system.
"Libya is now established, it is a new government and they have the right to prosecute Seif and Senoussi here and in according with our rules the primacy is with the national system. If they conduct the proceedings, the court will not intervene," Moreno-Ocampo told reporters during a visit to Tripoli.
"The point is that for Libya, and I respect that, it is very important to do the cases in Libya. This is a right and I have nothing to say. I'm not competing for the case," he added, expressing hope it would be a fair trial.
Seif al-Islam - who has undergone a stunning transformation from a voice of reform to supporting his father in trying to stop the uprising - was captured on Saturday.
Officials with the governing National Transitional Council also reported that al-Senoussi, who is wanted by France over the 1989 bombing of French airliner, was captured over the weekend in the southern city of Sabha.
However, other more senior Libyan officials have cast doubt on the claim.
The announcement clears the way for Seif al-Islam, the only Gadhafi family member in Libyan custody, to answer for the alleged crimes of his late father's four-decade rule over the oil-rich nation.
The ICC has charged Seif al-Islam and ex-intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi with crimes against humanity.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters that Libya will help establish the judicial framework for the trial, which many expect to be a bellwether of the new Libyan government's ability to uphold the rule of law. The country is also struggling to build its judicial system and other government institutions practically from scratch.
International rights groups have called on Libya to hand both men to the ICC for trial, but Libya's new leaders insist he face justice at home even though they have yet to set up a strong court system.
"Libya is now established, it is a new government and they have the right to prosecute Seif and Senoussi here and in according with our rules the primacy is with the national system. If they conduct the proceedings, the court will not intervene," Moreno-Ocampo told reporters during a visit to Tripoli.
"The point is that for Libya, and I respect that, it is very important to do the cases in Libya. This is a right and I have nothing to say. I'm not competing for the case," he added, expressing hope it would be a fair trial.
Seif al-Islam - who has undergone a stunning transformation from a voice of reform to supporting his father in trying to stop the uprising - was captured on Saturday.
Officials with the governing National Transitional Council also reported that al-Senoussi, who is wanted by France over the 1989 bombing of French airliner, was captured over the weekend in the southern city of Sabha.
However, other more senior Libyan officials have cast doubt on the claim.
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