Originally published on the CGS blog on November 29, 2011.
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said that Libya’s transitional government has agreed to work with the ICC and the United Nations to investigate alleged crimes committed by Saif Gaddafi, the recently captured son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The subject of where Saif would be tried – either at the ICC or in Libya – has provoked much debate since his capture. The ICC had issued arrest warrants for Saif, his father, and Gaddafi’s former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi for crimes against humanity stemming from their involvement in the violent crackdown on civilians which took place in Libya for several months this year. Because the UN Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC, the Court has jurisdiction over the case, even though Libya is not an ICC state party. However, some in Libya had expressed the desire to hold Saif accountable in their own country rather than handing him over to the Hague for trial.
Prosecutor Ocampo seems satisfied with the Libyan government’s vow of cooperation on the Saif Gaddafi case. It is now critically important that the country’s National Transitional Council fulfill this pledge. Even as Libya begins to pick up the pieces and rebuild a post-Gaddafi nation, those responsible for crimes against civilians, including Saif Gaddafi, must be held accountable and brought to justice.
