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Notícies :: criminalització i repressió |
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Gaddafi son attacked, tortured misled - defence lawyer
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per Sara Webb |
06 abr 2012
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Pressure is mounting on Libya to hand over Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader, to the international war crimes court after a defence lawyer said he had been physically attacked and misled over the charges against him. |
AMSTERDAM, April 5 (Reuters) -
The Libyan authorities and the International Criminal Court
(ICC), the war crimes court based in The Hague, have been locked
in a dispute over where Saif al-Islam should face trial.
Libya wants to try Muammar Gaddafi's son in a domestic
court, where he would face the death penalty if found guilty,
whereas the ICC on Wednesday insisted that he should be handed
over to The Hague, where he would face imprisonment if
convicted.
"Mr. Gaddafi has been physically attacked" while being held
in Libya, Xavier-Jean Keïta, principal counsel at the ICC's
Office of Public Counsel for the Defence, said in an emailed
statement.
"He also suffers pain due to the absence of dental
treatment. The Libyan authorities have failed to take any steps
to remedy this pain by according Mr. Gaddafi the medical and
dental treatment ordered by the Chamber almost a month ago."
The ICC issued warrants last year for the arrest of Muammar
Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, and the Libyan leader's intelligence
chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, who was arrested last month in
Mauritania.
Since the elder Gaddafi was killed after being captured
alive by rebel fighters, competing militias have yet to lay down
their arms and Western human rights organisations have accused
them of carrying out numerous extra-judicial executions and
other abuses, raising serious questions about the rule of law.
The ICC issued a warrant for Saif al-Islam in June 2011
after prosecutors accused him and others of involvement in the
killing of protesters during the revolt that eventually toppled
and killed his father in August.
But Libya says Gaddafi's British-educated son should face
justice at home. He was caught last year disguised as a Bedouin
tribesman in the Sahara desert, months after telling his
father's opponents they would be exterminated like rats.
The defence lawyer, Keïta, also said that Saif al-Islam has
been given misleading information concerning the status of
domestic investigations against him.
"Mr. Gaddafi was advised that he was being investigated for
trivial allegations concerning the absence of a licence for
camels, and irregularities concerning fish farms, and that he
would not be pursued for serious crimes, such as murder and
rape, due to lack of evidence," the defence counsel said.
But, the lawyer added, the Libyan authorities then
"performed a dramatic volte-face": when asked by the ICC to hand
over Saif al-Islam, they told the ICC that they wanted to
investigate and prosecute him in Libya for serious crimes that
come under the ICC's jurisdiction.
Keïta said Saif al-Islam has been held in detention by the
Libyan authorities for 139 days, without being brought before a
judge, and had been unable to communicate with his family and
friends or to receive visits from them.
"Apart from visits from officials and prosecuting
authorities, he has been kept in total isolation," Keïta said.
(Reporting by Sara Webb; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
REUTERS |
This work is in the public domain |
