ICC takes custody of Libya war crimes suspect News
Choinowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
ICC takes custody of Libya war crimes suspect

The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed on Monday that a Libyan war crimes suspect has been transferred from Germany to its custody at The Hague, Netherlands. The move represents a significant step in the pursuit of justice for atrocities committed in Libya.

The suspect, identified as Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, faces charges of murder, torture and rape, said to have occurred in Libya from February 2015 to the beginning of 2020, while he was in power as a chief of a Libyan prison. El Hishri is said to have had the position of a top officer at Mitiga Prison in Tripoli, which was under the control of the Al-Radaa (Special Deterrence Forces) militia, a powerful armed group that has operated in western Libya and was responsible for the control of detention sites there.

On July 16, he was detained at Berlin Brandenburg Airport by German police acting under a sealed arrest warrant from the ICC. He was kept in Germany until domestic procedures were completed according to the stipulations of Article 59 of the Rome Statute. The action of transferring him to the Court’s detention facilities in The Hague reflects Germany’s policy of cooperation of Germany with the ICC and commitment to holding those who commit serious violations of international law accountable.

According to Allison West, senior legal advisor at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the arrest marked “a long-overdue breakthrough for survivors of the grave crimes committed in detention in Libya, at Mitiga and beyond.” She emphasized that the case shows “international justice can work when states cooperate” and further highlighted that Germany’s prompt move is a clear indication of the failure of collaboration in other recent cases.

ICC registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler thanked German authorities for their “strong and consistent cooperation” in facilitating the arrest and transfer. The ICC is expected to initiate the proceedings shortly, and the preliminary hearings will determine the extent of the allegations, evaluate the evidence, and decide the language in which El Hishri can participate in the process.

Although Libya is not a state party to the Rome Statute, it this year made a formal acceptance of the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes committed on its territory from 2011 to 2027.

The Libya situation marked only the second instance in which the United Nations Security Council referred a case to the ICC, and the second time that the ICC initiated an investigation in a territory not party to the Rome Statute – the first being Darfur, Sudan. In connection with the Libya investigation, nine more ICC arrest warrants are still pending.

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