(AP) AMSTERDAM – The Libyan government has formally challenged the International Criminal Court’s
right to try Muammar Qaddafi’s son for war crimes, arguing that he should be tried in Libya despite concerns he may not
receive a fair trial there.
Qaddafi, son of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, appears in front of journalists at his father's residential complex
in the Libyan capital of Tripoli Aug. 23, 2011. (AFP/Getty Images)
The Hague, Netherlands-based court is authorized by the U.N. to try
war crimes committed last year as rebels fought the Qaddafi regime. It has issued an arrest warrant for the late dictator’s
son, Saif al-Islam, on charges of killing and persecuting civilians during the uprising.
The court said Tuesday it had
received a formal submission from Libya’s new leadership arguing that Saif al-Islam, along with Qaddafi’s former military
intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senoussi, should be tried on Libyan soil.
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Saif al-Islam was captured by rebels last year and is being held in the
western town of Zintan, while al-Senoussi was arrested last month in Mauritania. Libya is seeking his extradition.
The
conflict between the court and country boils down to the question of whether Libya is capable of conducting a fair trial for
the pair.
Under international law, a country has both the right and the duty to prosecute suspected war criminals.
However, court spokeswoman Sonia Robla explained Tuesday that once the court has issued an arrest warrant for a suspect, it
cannot retract it unless judges believe suspects will be tried for substantially the same crimes they were indicted for, and
that they will receive a fair trial.
Libya’s filing says it seeks to do exactly that.
“Libya respectfully
submits that…its (own) national judicial system is actively investigating Mr. Qaddafi and Mr. al-Senoussi for their alleged
criminal responsibility for multiple acts of murder and persecution…amounting to crimes against humanity,” the application
released Tuesday said.
Human rights groups have expressed concern that Saif al-Islam will not get a fair trial in
Libya, especially given the central government’s lack of control over some areas, including Zintan, in the aftermath of the
civil war.
Muammar Qaddafi also was indicted by the ICC, but he was killed by rebels who captured him last year and
his case has since been dropped.
The court had set Tuesday as the deadline for a Libyan challenge to its jurisdiction,
rejecting the government’s requests for more time.
Libya insisted that its desire to try the pair “reflects a genuine
willingness and ability to bring the persons concerned to justice.”
“To deny the Libyan people this historic
opportunity to eradicate the long-standing culture of impunity would be manifestly inconsistent with the object and purpose”
of the international court.
The International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said he has evidence
linking Saif al-Islam to supervising and planning recruitment of mercenaries to fight last year’s uprising. Moreno-Ocampo is
cooperating with Libyan authorities. He says ICC judges must ultimately decide whether or not to remand the case to a Libyan
court.
“The Libyan general prosecutor has more evidence that confirms our reports and even more that links Saif to
more crimes, some (where) he was involved in with his own hands as he executed people,” Moreno-Ocampo told The Associated
Press last month on a visit to Libya.
