Gaddafis named as war crimes suspects by international criminal court

Chief prosecutor requests arrest warrants for Libyan leader, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law and intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi have been named as war crimes suspects by the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court in The Hague. Presenting his request for arrest warrants to the ICC, the chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said the three operated as an “inner circle”, orchestrating the killing of peaceful protesters, with Saif al-Islam operating as a “de facto prime minister”. He said dissidents were targeted at home and in public places, with live ammunition as well as “heavy weaponry”. Moreno-Ocampo also said that Muammar Gaddafi led the campaign “with the goal of preserving his absolute authority”, and added that he had “direct evidence of orders issued by Muammar Gaddafi himself”. Moreno-Ocampo’s request for an arrest warrant against Saif Gaddafi will come as a shock to his prominent and wealthy circle of friends in Britain as well as the government officials – in Britain, Europe and the US – who saw him as a westernised moderniser with whom they could perhaps make peace. Moreno-Ocampo even came under pressure from western governments not to include Saif al-Islam in his initial list of suspects as it would shut off a possible avenue to a truce in a conflict which Nato states are increasingly anxious to bring to a rapid conclusion, according to sources familiar with the manoeuvring of the past few weeks. In his presentation to the ICC judges in The Hague on Monday, Moreno-Ocampo appears to have shrugged off those pressures. If the ICC issues the arrest warrants, it will deepen the embarrassment of the London School of Economics, where Saif studied and which accepted a £1.5m donation from a foundation Saif controlled to fund a north African research porgramme. Of that total, £300,000 was actually spent before the programme was suspended. Saif’s western image as a sophisticated reformer was badly dented when he appeared on television after the outbreak of pro-democracy protests in Libya, vowing that the regime would fight “to the last bullet”. However, in his application for an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity, Moreno-Ocampo argues not only that Saif al-Islam incited violence, but presents evidence that he also played a central role in orchestrating the killing of unarmed and peaceful demonstrators. In laying out his case, Moreno-Ocampo said he would target “those who bear the highest responsibility”. He added that: “It is indeed a characteristic of the situation in Libya that massive crimes are reportedly committed upon instruction of a few persons who control the organisations that execute the orders.” The prosecutors believe that although Saif al-Islam had no formal position in Libya’s fearsome secret police and elite presidential units responsible for much of the bloodshed – his reputation was more of a urbane playboy – he assumed a leading role at the height of the crisis to defend the regime against the threat of the Arab spring movement that had already toppled dictators to the west and east of Libya, in Tunisia and Egypt. Some of Moreno-Ocampo’s strongest evidence is believed to have come from inside the regime itself. The prosecutor even issued a statement on Sunday boasting of the co-operation from Tripoli, in an apparent effort to stir paranoia inside the regime over who is informing on whom. “During the last week, the office of the prosecutor received several calls from high-level officials in Gaddafi’s regime willing to provide information,” the statement read. A panel of ICC judges will now consider the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants. If those warrants are issued, it will be up to national governments to enforce them. Moreno-Ocampo said on Monday he thought Libyans would do the job themselves. The ICC has no police force of its own. Muammar Gaddafi Libya Luis Moreno-Ocampo Middle East Africa International criminal court Julian Borger guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 16, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.