16.05.11 - ICC/LIBYA - OCAMPO REQUESTS ARREST WARRANT AGAINST GADDAFI

16 May 2011 By

The Hague, May 16, 2011 (FH) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor requested on Monday arrest warrants for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, his son Saif al-Islam, and the head of the country's intelligence service, Abdullah al-Senussi, accusing them of crimes against humanity.

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Colonel Gaddafi has "personally ordered attacks on unarmed Libyan civilians", Luis Moreno-Ocampo declared in a Press conference on Monday. His son, and his brother in law Abdullah al-Senussi were also involved in the crimes, the prosecutor added.

The UN Security Council ordered the court to launch an investigation into war crimes in Libya as part of its Resolution 1970 on February 26, 2011. Luis Moreno Ocampo opened the case on March 3. Moreno Ocampo said cooperation from UN Security Council, Arab League and African Union and global consensus that the crimes in Libya had to be investigated helped him move quickly in his investigation.

Judges must now decide whether there is enough evidence to issue warrants. They will have to study documents and information collected by thirty fact-finding missions sent to 10 different countries. However, the office of the Prosecutor said his investigators did not go to the places in Libya were crimes were committed.

Luis Moreno asserts that he could prove that the crimes were planned: " They held meetings to plan and direct the crimes", he said.

SM/ER/GF