JURIST Supported by the University of Pittsburgh
PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

ICC prosecutor urges Gaddafi aides to implement arrest warrant
Maureen Cosgrove at 2:46 PM ET

Photo source or description
[JURIST] International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] on Tuesday urged [press release] personal aides of Libyan leader Mummar Gaddafi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to implement the arrest warrants issued Monday [JURIST report]. Moreno-Ocampo called on the aides to arrest Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the "de facto Prime Minister," and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanussi [warrants, PDF], the head of intelligence, for alleged crimes against the people of Libya to quell the revolt that began last February, saying the aides could be "part of the solution." Though Libya is not a signatory of the Rome Statute [text] granting the ICC its jurisdiction, Moreno-Ocampo said, "Libya has to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1970, which specifically called on Libya to "cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor.'" Libya has rejected the warrants [Pakistan Times report], claiming the ICC is a vehicle for European foreign policy. Libyan citizens celebrated [Guardian report] the ICC's announcement that it had issued the arrest warrants.

Last week, Moreno-Ocampo presented the arrest warrants' supporting materials to Pre-Trial Chamber. He said his office had gathered "direct evidence" [JURIST report] that shows Gaddafi personally ordered attacks on civilian protestors and that his forces used live ammunition on crowds, attacked civilians in their homes, used heavy weapons against people in funeral processions and placed snipers to shoot those leaving mosques after prayer services. Moreno-Ocampo announced [JURIST report] last month that his office was pursuing arrest warrants against Gaddafi and the two others in his "inner circle." He said Saif al-Islam was acting as Gaddafi's "de facto Prime Minister" and called al-Sanussi Gaddafi's "right-hand man" and "executioner." At that time, Moreno-Ocampo said his office was almost prepared for trial, having collected quality testimony from some who have fled Libya. There have been numerous allegations of war crimes and human rights violations over the Libyan revolt which has persisted since February. Earlier this month, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] decided to extend a mandate to an investigative panel instructing it to continue its investigation of human rights abuses in Libya, after it published a 92-page report [JURIST reports]. The report claims Libyan authorities have committed crimes against humanity such as acts constituting murder, imprisonment and other severe deprivations of physical liberties, torture, forced disappearances and rape "as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population with knowledge of the attack."




Link |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For more legal news check the Paper Chase Archive...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 Supreme Court rules on scope of federal agencies' jurisdiction
2:35 PM ET, May 20

 Supreme Court rules on foreign taxes
1:36 PM ET, May 20

 Supreme Court rules defendant not entitled to federal habeas relief
12:53 PM ET, May 20

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news delivered daily to your e-mail!

LATEST FORUM

The War on Terror and the Need for Muslim Support
DOMESTIC
Faisal Kutty
Valparaiso University Law School

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@jurist.org