Originally published on the CGS blog on November 4, 2011.
The recent death of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his son Muatassim, have left his second son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Libyan intelligence chief Abudllah al-Senussi as the only remaining fugitives to be captured and tried at the International Criminal Courts (ICC) for crimes against humanity.
The ICC is examining Gaddafi as part of a broader probe into alleged war crimes committed by pro-Gaddafi forces, revolutionary fighters and NATO and whether former spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi was involved in the ordering of mass rapes to persecute Libyan rebels. “While it is premature to draw conclusions on specific numbers, the information and evidence indicates at this stage that hundreds of rapes occurred during the conflict,” said ICC Cheif Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
Ocampo did not provide details of possible crimes by NATO forces. However, western allies have denied allegations they deliberately targeted civilians during NATO’s seven-month bombing campaign against pro-Gaddafi forces, which ended Monday.
The exact whereabouts of both men are unknown.
“My latest information is that they are not in Mali and they are not in Niger yet either,” Malian legislator Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh said this week. Malian journalist Adam Thiam noted that Al-Senussi and Gaddafi won’t be given safe haven in these areas because they are used by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, an extremist group which has “no love of the Gaddafi family.” Gaddafi violently repressed Libya’s own Islamist movement and was a longtime enemy of al-Qaida.
Gaddafi may try to flee to Niger with the help of mercenaries. Niger has promised to hand Gaddafi over if he is captured, but it does risk upsetting pro-Gaddafi Tuareg nomads in the country.
Libya’s Deputy UN Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi, in a speech to the National Transition council, did not say where he thought the two men should be tried if arrested but promised “consultation and close cooperation” with the ICC.
GlobalSolutions.org has repeatedly called on the Libyan National Transition Council to abide by their agreements made with the ICC in April to turn in Gaddafi and Al-Senussi if they are captured in Libya. Currently, there is no justice system capable of holding a fair trial in Libya, making the International Criminal court the only venue available to secure justice and accountability for the Libyan people.
Photo credit: http://trinityradio.ca/torontonew/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/saif-gaddafi-libya_1978299c-460×225.jpg
