Thursday, November 10, 2011

Qaddafi spy chief may face charges of involvement in mass rapes

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says there are indications that Muammar Qaddafi’s former spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, was involved in organizing mass rapes during the Libyan unrest. (Reuters)

Muammar Qaddafi’s former spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, may be charged alongside others with a suspected involvement in hundreds of rapes in Libya during this year’s conflict, the International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Wednesday.

The ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was close to completing an investigation into the use of rape by Qaddafi’s forces as they battled an eight-month insurgency which erupted in February when protesters demanded the now-deceased leader surrender power.

“I am finishing the rapes investigation; we will see if there are new charges for the same people, or for new people,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in The Hague.
Senussi, alongside Qaddafi’s fugitive son Saif al-Islam, has already been indicted by The Hague-based court on charges of crimes against humanity and other war crimes.

“We have indications that Senussi was involved in organizing the rapes, but not Saif,” Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters.

Last month, Moreno-Ocampo told Al Arabiya that the ICC had received questions from individuals linked to Saif al-Islam Qaddafi about the legal conditions attached to his potential surrender and what would happen if he were convicted or acquitted.

“Someone close to Saif approached someone related with Saif and he was asking a few questions about the possible surrender of Saif to the ICC, including questions about what happened if he is convicted, what happens if he is acquitted, where he is going, so we clarified this issue – but we have nothing to negotiate,” Moreno-Ocampo said.

The ICC had said last week it made informal contact with Saif and is seeking to arrest him and bring him to trial on the charges stemming from Libya’s civil war.

“We are prosecuting him,” Moreno-Ocampo said. “We have evidence; the judges issued an arrest warrant, so our job is to try to ensure that he appears before the judges.”

“I am confident we will get Saif,” to face charges in The Hague, Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters. ”

“The question is not if he will be arrested, it’s when,” he said. “It’s a matter of time, Seif will face justice, that’s his destiny.”

Moreno-Ocampo had highlighted fears that mercenaries were trying to help Qaddafi’s heir-apparent to escape. He also said it was possible Libya’s new government could be given jurisdiction in the case against Seif and Senussi.

Libya’s interim leadership, the National Transitional Council (NTC), has said it would like to try Saif al-Islam and Senussi in Libya. Moreno-Ocampo said he planned to meet the NTC in January.

Muammar Qaddafi died on Oct. 20 shortly after his capture by the former rebels, now the government forces.

Reports that Senussi passed from Niger into Mali were circulated last month by security sources from both countries.

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