ICC has info on location of Gaddafi's son and other Libya fugitives

ICC has info on location of Gaddafi's son and other Libya fugitives
The International Criminal Court claims to know the location of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son.
2 min read
07 November, 2019
The International Criminal Court says it knows the location of Gaddafi's son [Getty]

The International Criminal Court has "reliable information" about the location of one of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi's sons as well as two other Libyan war crimes fugitives, prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council Wednesday.

"I urge all states, including Libya and Egypt, to facilitate the immediate arrest and surrender of the Libyan fugitives to the Court," she said, citing the relevant Security Council resolution.

The three are wanted for war crimes including "murder, torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, and the crimes against humanity of persecution, imprisonment, torture, and other inhumane acts," she said.

Seif al-Islam al-Kadhafi, the Gaddafi son, was believed to be in Zintan, Libya, Bensouda said.

An arrest warrant was issued in 2017 for Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, the former head of the Libyan internal security agency, but Bensouda said he "still resides in Cairo".

The third suspect is Mahmud al-Werfalli, a commander in rogue General Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army.

Bensouda said her office had information Werfalli "continues to enjoy his liberty in the Bengazi area", and was promoted in July from major to lieutenant colonel in Haftar's force.

"This promotion sends a clear message that General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the LNA, has no intention to genuinely prosecute Mr Al-Werfalli for the crimes alleged in the ICC arrest warrants," she said.

Comment: It's time for the ICC to indict Haftar for war crimes

Several Security Council members deplored the impunity the three suspects enjoy.

The Belgian ambassador to the United Nations, Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, urged the Security Council to add them to a UN sanctions list.

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