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Can the hague wrest gaddafi's son from libya and a powerfulmilitia? by efwegbe erergeer
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Can the hague wrest gaddafi's son from libya and a powerfulmilitia? |
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Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
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The world might soon hear again from Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. Nolonger able to deliver fiery speeches to his supporters, theone-time heir of the late Libyan dictator may appear soon in thedock of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. OnWednesday, April 4, ICC judges demanded that Libyan officialssurrender Muammar Gaddafi's son immediately, rejecting a secondrequest from authorities in Tripoli to allow them time to mount alegal argument to try the most powerful son of the slain dictatoron their soil. Instead, the ICC judges' ruling found that Libya hadno sound legal argument for delaying Saif's transfer and orderedthe officials to "start making arrangements ..
for the surrenderof Mr. Gaddafi ... without further ado." The ruling came nearly five months after the younger Gaddafi wascaptured by Libya's Zintan militia and flown to that town. He hasbeen in custody there ever since, with virtually no contact withthe outside world.
In addition to Libya's former intelligence chiefAbdullah al-Senussi (who is in custody in Mauritania), Saif isunder ICC indictment for crimes against humanity based onallegations that he ordered the military to fire on unarmedprotesters in eastern Libya during the early days of last year'srevolution, before the rebels became an armed force. The ICC's outgoing prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has said he hassolid evidence that Saif was deeply involved from the beginning inthe deadly crackdown against protesters. He told Vanity Fair last August that text messages between Saif and top MuammarGaddafi officials showed "Saif heading the transport of thesoldiers coming from Chad" who were reportedly key to the regime'saction against the opposition. (VIDEO: TIME's Exclusive Interview with Gaddafi's Son Saif) The ICC's surrender order could mean years, perhaps decades, injail for Saif once he's transferred to the Hague.
Even so, Saif'sdefenders have long believed he would have a better shot at a fairtrial in the Hague than he would in Libya, whose courts are in deepdisarray six months after the war's end and where the death penaltyis on the books. A close former aide to Saif told TIME onWednesday, "He's been in total isolation and has no contact withlawyers or family and friends." That was also the picture painted by the ICC's public defenders,two of whom visited Saif in Zintan earlier this year. Outlining theconditions in which Saif has been held since he was captured onNov. 19, an ICC statement said Libyan officials had denied Saifmedical treatment for a hand injury sustained during his captureand dental treatment for a toothache.
In addition, he has had nocommunication with family or friends; the only outside visit waslast December by Fred Abrahams, Human Rights Watch's specialadviser in New York City. "Apart from visits from officials andprosecuting authorities, he has been kept in total isolation," theICC defense office report says, describing Saif's status as "alegal black hole." But another legal black hole could lie ahead, within Libya'sfractured politics. Libya's Justice Ministry in Tripoli now needsto wrest control of Saif from the powerful militia in Zintan, whichwields authority over the city 85 miles (137 km) west of thecapital and over Libya's highly prized prisoner. Until now,Zintan's leaders have shown no inclination to hand over Saif,despite several statements from Tripoli that Saif will beimprisoned in the capital as soon as a specially constructed prisoncell is ready for him. And even if Saif is transferred to Tripoli,Libyan officials have expressed ambivalence about trying him in theHague.
If Libya fails to send Saif to the ICC, its new leaders could faceU.N. sanctions for noncooperation with the ICC. In reality, thatmight not mean much — and Libya could, in effect, play formore time. Sudan's government has been similarly rebuked by theU.N.
for failing to surrender two government officials to the ICCfor their alleged crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict.Yet the U.N. has yet to impose concrete, much less punitive, actionagainst Sudan for noncooperation with the court. Libya, however, could be different — or so human-rights groupsare hoping. Having driven out Gaddafi with NATO's help, Libya's newleaders are keen to establish the country's internationalcredentials after decades of pariah status under Gaddafi.
"So far,Libya has cooperated with the court, and they've continued to showa good-faith approach with the ICC," says Elizabeth Evenson, seniorcounsel for Human Rights Watch's international-justice program inBrussels. "We're expecting that they will understand theimportance" of surrendering Saif to the Hague, she says. (MORE: Gaddafi's Final Run: The End of the Colonel's Long, WeirdRide) In a blistering statement on Thursday, the ICC's Office of PublicCounsel for the Defence accused Libyan officials of effectivelybungling the case against by far their highest-profile prisoner— indeed, the most powerful figure left alive from MuammarGaddafi's 42-year dictatorship. Western leaders once hailed Saif asthe bright, reformist hope for Libya's future.
As the months have dragged on, international lawyers have grownconcerned that Saif might be killed in custody rather than broughtto trial — a prospect that the ICC's defense lawyers arguedwould be extremely bad for Libya's new leaders. The defensecounsel's report said Saif "has been physically attacked" but gaveno details. "The brutal death of Muammar Gaddafi deprived theLibyan people of their right to justice, and their right to thetruth," the report said. "It would be a travesty for the prospectsof a free and fair Libyan state if the same were to occur to hisson." There are secrets with Saif that some people may not want to hear.Although the ICC indictment concerns Saif's actions last February,Saif has often said that if given the chance, he would divulgehighly embarrassing information about Western leaders.
In recentmonths, French journalists have pointed to details concerningpossible Libyan funding for President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007election campaign. More explosive, perhaps, are questions over whatdeal was struck with officials from former British Prime MinisterTony Blair's government in order to secure hugely lucrative energyconcessions for British companies. Blair and others have longrebuffed suggestions that a tacit arrangement led to the release inAugust 2010 from a Scottish prison of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, whowas convicted in the bombing attack on a Pan Am jetliner thatkilled 270 people. The man who negotiated al-Megrahi's release— and escorted him home to ecstatic crowds — was Saif.
MORE: Gaddafi's Son Ordered His Own Cruise Ship, Complete withShark Tank MORE: On the Farm of Gaddafi's Son: Lions and Tigers and Bombs, OhMy! I am an expert from Irrigation & Watering, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as globe food processor , lakewood floor fan.
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