By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES 

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda Friday called for the arrest of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is being sought by The Hague-based war tribunal.  Bensouda made the remarks speaking before the UN Security Council in New York. Bensouda also rejected Al-Islam Gaddafi’s plead for the ICC to drop its arrest warrant against him. In 2011, the ICC issued a warrant of arrest against Gaddafi for alleged crimes against humanity of murder and persecution. Gaddafi argued that as a consequence of domestic proceedings conducted against him in Libya he cannot be tried at the ICC. Bensouda made it clear that is not the case:

“For the reasons set out in my written response to this admissibility challenge, filed on the 28th of September 2018, I argued that Mr. Gaddafi’s case remains admissible before the Court. My sixteenth report, transmitted to the (UN Security) Council two weeks ago, briefly outlines my submissions. My Office maintains that Mr. Gaddafi must be arrested and surrendered to the Court.”

ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bendouda before UN Security Council Nov. 2, 2018. 

The ICC is calling for the immediate arrest and surrender of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s most prominent son, to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Accrding to the arrest warrant for Gaddafi, he faces two counts of Crimes against humanity including murder and persecution of civilians, allegedly conducted as part of an orchestrated campaign against demonstrators during the uprising in Libya in 2011. Gaddafi is one of several individuals in Libya whose alleged criminal acts could fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC, Bensouda said. She stated that her office  continues to monitor criminal actions of armed groups in the country.  “These armed groups represent a major threat to long-term peace and stability in Libya, ” Bensouda said.