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29 March 2024

British lawyers to argue Libya's case before ICC

Published
By AFP

Libya said on Monday that it has retained two lawyers from a top British firm as part of its bid to convince the International Criminal Court to allow a local trial for Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif Al Islam.

"The National Transitional Council (NTC) has retained legal counsellors from outside Libya who have great experience in international criminal law," interim Prime Minister Abdel Rahman al-Kib said in a statement.

The legal team includes Philippe Sands QC and Michelle Butler who are members of Matrix Chambers Ltd in London, he said.

The NTC has also appointed top officials of the justice ministry and the general prosecutor's office to help prepare the case under the leadership of Ahmed Al Jehani, its envoy to the ICC.

On April 30, Libya is expected to challenge the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which has called for Seif Al Islam's "immediate" transfer to The Hague.

The North African nation must argue before ICC judges why Gaddafi's son should be put in the dock in Libya and prove that the country is capable of conducting such a trial.

"These steps show that Libya is fully committed and capable of trying Seif Al Islam Gaddafi and (former intelligence chief) Abdullah Senussi in Libya," Kib said.

Tripoli has been at loggerheads with The Hague-based ICC over who has the right to bring former regime figures to justice.

Both Seif and Senussi are wanted by the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity in trying to put down the bloody revolt against Muammar Gaddafi last year.
The dead dictator's 39-year-old son remains in the custody of a militia in the town of Zintan.

Senussi, who is also wanted by France and Libya, is being held in Mauritania where he was arrested last month.

Kib vowed that Seif will have a "fair trial that is open to the Libyan public and the international community," and invited "UN representatives and human rights groups to witness the proceedings."

His statement was released two days after ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo ended a visit to the North African nation.

Ocampo said on Saturday that Libya has been building up evidence against Gaddafi's son in the hope of persuading ICC judges to sanction a local trial.