Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is wanted by the court to face charges of crimes against humanity committed after February 2011.He has been held by a militia in Zintan since he was arrested on November 19, 2011.
Libya's governing National Transitional Council asked the ICC in November 2011 and January 2012 to suspend the execution of its arrest warrant on grounds that he was already facing charges in Libya. These requests have been rejected. In their April 4 decision, judges said that Libya should start making arrangements for Saif's surrender to the court "without further ado".
“Any failure on the part of the gouvernement of Libya to comply with its obligations to enforce the warrant of arrest against M. Kadhafi may warrant that the Court make a finding to this effect”, the Chamber added. A UN Security Council resolution obliges Libya to co-operate with the court and hand him over to international justice.
However, according to the BBC, Libya refused on Thursday to surrender Saif al-Islam to the ICC. A government spokesman said the he should be tried in Libya, adding that a special prison and court was being built in preparation for the trial. He did not say when the trial would happen.
Saif al-Islam faces the death penalty if found guilty by a Libyan court, but only a prison term if convicted by the ICC.
SM/ER/GF