The ICC Hand Saif Gaddafi Over To The NTC For Trial And Sentencing

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Saif was taken into custody by the rebels over one month ago. We have seen him in recorded videos wounded, stating that he is being detained against his will. Another video has him confessing he is safe and with friends, recovering from injuries.

If the initial video released had not been marked by the February 17th Movement logo, I might have had my mind set at ease by an interview conducted by Lizzie Phelan this evening. However, given the inconsistencies in the story, that it is conjecture not fact, and that the ICRC consider Saif a political prisoner, the news that the ICC have granted the NTC permission to try Saif changes everything.

He is in more danger now than he was when the petition for his safety was first launched.

We would be unwise to underestimate the many levels of betrayal and treachery at work here. Saif has value to many competing factions for different reasons. There is also a sizable bounty on his head.

If the Zintan rebels genuinely intend him no harm, they would help him leave Libya, taking him well beyond the reach of the NTC.

The entire argument that they are his friends collapses in the light of this single, simple truth. They are placing him in the path of danger, not removing him from it.

The African Union could have intervened on Saif’s behalf, insisting he be tried at the African Court on Human and People’s Rights where the best possible outcome could be achieved under the circumstances, but they have abstained.

URGENT UPDATE: THE TROUBLING CASE OF SAIF GADDAFI

Alexandra Valiente
Editor of Libya 360°

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi could be tried in Libya, says ICC prosecutor

José Luis Moreno Ocampo says son of Muammar Gaddafi could be tried in Libya as long as trial meets court’s standards

Reuters
guardian.co.uk

The chief international criminal court prosecutor has admitted that the captured son of Muammar Gaddafi could be tried in Libya rather than The Hague, meaning he faces the death penalty if convicted.

The ICC, based in The Hague, the Netherlands, has indicted Saif al-Islam Gaddafi for crimes against humanity, but José Luis Moreno Ocampo said he could be tried in Libya as long as the trial complied with ICC standards.

“Saif is captured, so we are here to ensure co-operation,” he told reporters in Tripoli. “In May, we requested an arrest warrant because Libyans could not do justice in Libya. Now, as Libyans have decided to do justice, they could do justice and we’ll help them to do it – that is the system.

“Our international criminal court acts when the national system cannot act. They [the Libyans] have decided to do it, and that is why we are here – to learn and to understand what they are doing and to co-operate.”

Libya, which has promised a fair trial, still has the death penalty on its books. The most severe punishment the ICC can impose is life imprisonment.

“The law says the primacy is for the national system. If they prosecute the case here, we will discuss with them how to inform the judges and they can do it. But our judges have to be involved,” Moreno-Ocampo added.

Saif al-Islam was captured in the Sahara desert and is being held in the town of Zintan, where his captors are based.

An official in Zintan told Reuters that steps towards his prosecution were already being taken. “A Libyan prosecutor met with Saif [on Monday] to conduct a preliminary investigation,” Ahmed Ammar said.

Saif al-Islam’s arrest, which was celebrated by people shooting their weapons into the air around the country, has exposed the tensions between regional clans.

The Zintan fighters who seized him flew him to their hometown rather than to Tripoli, and are holding him in Zintan until the central government is formed.

As Moreno-Ocampo met officials in Tripoli, the National Transitional Council prepared to unveil a new government that aims to reconcile regional and ideological interests.

THE GADDAFI FAMILY TAKE LEGAL ACTION TO PROTECT SAIF AL ISLAM

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Category : Human Rights, ICC, International Law, Libya, Political Prisoners, Urgent Action!