Gaddafi's daughter seeks probe into his death

Gaddafi, who led Libya for 42 years, was captured and killed in October [Reuters]

Muammar Gaddafi's daughter has asked the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) whether an investigation has been launched into the killing of her father and brother.

Aisha Gaddafi's lawyer Nick Kaufman said on Wednesday that he had written to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asking for more information on the October 20 killing of the former Libyan leader and his son Motassim.

"Aisha wants to know if he is investigating the murders and if not, why he is not," Kaufman told AFP news agency.

The letter said that Gaddafi and his son were "murdered in the most horrific fashion with their bodies thereafter displayed and grotesquely abused in complete defiance of Islamic law," Reuters reported.

"The images of this savagery were broadcast throughout the world, causing my client severe emotional distress. To date, neither Ms Gaddafi nor any member of her family has been informed, by your office, of the initiation of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the brutal murders.”

Gaddafi and his son were captured near their hometown of Sirte in October, two months after rebels seized the capital Tripoli and put the longtime leader and his relatives to flight.

They were killed soon after their capture while in the custody of fighters loyal to the country's new leadership, in circumstances that have not been fully explained.

In the letter, Aisha Gaddafi's lawyer also asked if the ICC prosecutor's office was taking steps to make sure the Libyan authorities themselves were investigating the matter.

The letter also asked whether the ICC was looking into what reports said at the time was a NATO air strike on Gaddafi's convoy moments before he was captured.

Aisha fled with other family members to neighbouring Algeria in August. 

The ICC, based in The Hague, earlier this year issued arrest warrants for Muammar Gaddafi, another son, Saif al-Islam, and the former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, for crimes against humanity.