Libya to try Gaddafi son, intelligence chief within next month

Cynthia Miley at 12:44 PM ET

[JURIST] Libyan Justice Minister Salah Maraghni announced Saturday that the war crimes trials of Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi [JURIST news archive], and brother-in-law and former intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi [BBC profile], will occur within the next month. Maraghni stated [RIA Novosti report] that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, former Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi and Gaddafi's former spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi will be put on trial once questioning is completed. Currently, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah al-Sennussi are being held in custody in Libya. Saif al-Islam stands accused of crimes against humanity for murder and persecution during the Libya conflict [JURIST backgrounder] under Gaddafi's regime. Saif al-Islam's trial will be in Zintan [UPI report], which has fulfilled the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] requirements necessary for the proceedings, according Taha Bara, the spokesperson for Libya's attorney general.

In October Libyan government lawyers urged [JURIST report] ICC judges to allow Saif al-Islam to be tried in Libya. They spoke during a hearing before the ICC, which was set to decide whether Saif al-Islam would be tried in Libya or at the ICC in The Hague. ICC judges are worried that Libya could not provide a fair trial. In September Libya postponed [JURIST report] Saif al-Islam's trial for five months so the prosecution could obtain evidence from Libya's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi. Al-Senussi was extradited to Libya [JURIST report] from Mauritania earlier in September on charges of murder and persecution for planning attacks on civilians during the Libya conflict. Saif al-Islam's trial was originally scheduled to start [JURIST report] in September. Although the ICC issued a warrant for Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity, the militiamen who captured him insist that he be tried in Zintan, Libya, where he has been held since 2011. Saif al-Islam was considered a likely successor to his father before an uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Source: JURIST (06/01/2013): http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/01/libya-to-try-gaddafi-son-intelligence-chief-within-next-month.php