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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Libyan leaders may face UN arrest for war crimes

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has said that he would advise the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that Libyan leaders, including Colonnel Muammar Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam, should be arrested for crimes against humanity.
The Guardian quoted Ocampo, as saying that around five warrants be issued over next few weeks with the approval of the ICC's pre-trial chamber, but did not disclose any name.
"We have strong evidence on the beginning of the conflict, the shooting of civilians," Ocampo told Reuters. "Also, we have strong evidence of the crime of persecution," he said.
Western diplomats believe the move is intended to put pressure on the Gaddafi regime to give up its fight against the civilians.
Media reports have suggested that the arrest warrants could also include targets like Libya's former Foreign Minister, Moussa Koussa, who defected to the UK, and Abu Zeyd Omar Dorda, Director General of the Libyan External Security Organisation.
The Security Council had voted unanimously in February to refer Gaddafi's violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrators to The Hague-based ICC. (ANI)