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UN war crimes court to name Libyan suspects
Thursday, 03 March 2011 21:34
AFP - The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will on Thursday name individuals to be targeted in a full-scale
probe of possible crimes against humanity committed in Libya, his office said Wednesday.Luis Moreno-Ocampo will announce "the opening of an investigation in Libya" at a press conference in The Hague on Thursday and present "preliminary information as to the entities and persons who could be prosecuted", it added.
The prosecutor will "put them on notice to avoid future crimes" and would also present an overview of the alleged crimes committed in Libya since an anti-government rebellion started on February 15, the statement noted.
Hundreds of people have been killed in a violent crackdown on the uprising and tens of thousands are fleeing the country, causing a humanitarian emergency.
On Monday, Ocampo said he was doing a preliminary assessment following the UN Security Council's referral of the Libyan crisis to the ICC, to establish whether there were reasonable grounds for a full probe.
The council had said "the widespread and systematic attacks currently taking place against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity", which fall under the ICC's mandate to prosecute.
"Following a preliminary examination of available information, the prosecutor has reached the conclusion that an investigation is warranted," the prosecution statement said.
Ocampo on Monday cited information that forces loyal to Kadhafi were attacking civilians.
"If people were in a square and were attacked by tanks, planes and soldiers, and if people were killed in a systematic way, this was a crime against humanity," he said at the time, promising to move "swiftly and impartially".
The office of the prosecutor was liaising with the UN, the African Union, the Arab League and individual states in the investigation.
"Additionally, the prosecutor will also request information from other sources including from Interpol who will provide assistance," the statement added.
The next step would be for Ocampo to present his case to ICC judges, "who will then decide whether or not to issue arrest warrants based on the evidence."
The ICC is the world's only independent, permanent tribunal with the jurisdiction to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
This is the second time that the UN Security Council refers a case to the ICC; the first, in 2005, concerned alleged human rights violations committed in Sudan's Darfur region.
That referral led to arrest warrants being issued in 2009 and 2010 against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A UN referral is one of three ways that the ICC can open a probe. In the other cases before the ICC, the prosecutor has launched his own investigations or has had them referred by signatory states to the court's founding Rome Statute.
Libya is not a signatory.
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Comments
Netanyahu, Bashir, to name a few, are still
walking freely,the |ICC will be irrelevant.
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