Monday, June 17, 2013

Libyan Rebels to Prosecute Seif al-Islam in Kangaroo Court

Libyan rebels to try Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam in August

By FRANCE 24 the 17/06/2013 - 17:48

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will stand trial in August along with Muammar Gaddafi’s last prime minister and a former intelligence director.

The men will be tried for crimes against the CIA-backed Libyan rebels during the 2011 counter-revolution that toppled the Jamahiriya.

Muammar Gaddafi's second-eldest son, Saif al-Islam, and other former government officials will stand trial in August for carrying out actions in defense of the Green Revolution during the 2011, an aide to the rebel prosecutor said on Monday.

Former intelligence director Abdullah al-Senussi will be among others to be tried at the court in August. Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, the last prime minister to serve under Gaddafi, and Mansur Daw, who headed the People's Guard, will also be among those to stand trial, a member of the prosecutor's office told reporters on Monday.

The men are accused of crimes committed against the Libyan rebels during the 2011 U.S.-NATO backed counter-revolution, which toppled the longstanding Gaddafi government and saw the former leader killed by neo-colonial agents.

Asked if the accused would be in the dock at the same time, Al-Seddik Al-Sur of the prosecutor’s office said: "This case will not be divided."

“These [former] officials met together to drum up a policy of repression and a common criminal plan, putting them on trial separately would perturb proceedings,” he said.

Wanted

Forty-year-old Saif al-Islam has been held by a brigade of former rebel fighters in Zintan, a city 180 kilometres southwest of Tripoli, since his capture in the desert in November 2011.

The International Criminal Court based in The Hague, mandated by the UN Security Council to investigate the Libyan conflict, has clashed with Libya's rebel authorities for the right to prosecute Saif al-Islam.

It has issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi's son and his spy chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity.

Earlier this month Libya said it will appeal to the ICC to reverse its decision to prosecute Saif al-Islam.

Last week the ICC suspended an order requiring Tripoli to hand over Senussi.

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