The International Criminal Court (ICC) began a hearing on the Libyan government’s challenge to admissibility of the case against Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi. Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi is the son of the late Muammar al-Gaddafi and is allegedly criminally responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator for two counts of crimes against humanity: murder, within the meaning of article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute; and persecution, within the meaning of article 7(1)(h).
The Libyan government argues that a Libyan court, rather than the ICC, should have jurisdiction in the case.
Gaddafi’s ICC defense counsel argued that the ICC should conduct the trial. The defense argued that Libyan authorities are unwilling and unable genuinely to carry out the investigation and prosecution. Among concerns raised by the defense were the Libyan authorities’ treatment of potential witnesses who are in government custody, the authorities’ alleged monitoring of attorney-client communications and provision of misleading information to the Court, the detention of Gaddafi’s defense counsel and other ICC staff in Libya, and the lack of correlation between the Libyan investigation against Gaddafi and the ICC case. To show that the case is inadmissible, the Libyan authorities would have to show that they are pursuing Gaddafi for the same or substantially the same conduct as that specified in the ICC proceedings.
The hearing is scheduled to resume tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
