The son of late leader Col Muammar Gaddafi is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity during the rebellion that ousted his father in 2011.

His location is unclear. The UN-backed government has condemned the release.

It is feared that the move could fuel further instability in the country.

Saif al-Islam was freed from jail last Friday by the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion militia in the western town of Zintan under an amnesty law.
He has not been seen in public since then. A source told the BBC he was in the Tobruk area of eastern Libya.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, of the Hague-based ICC, said her office was still trying to verify the release, and called on Libya and other states to arrest and surrender him.

“Libya is obliged to immediately arrest and surrender Mr Gaddafi to the ICC, regardless of any purported amnesty law in Libya,” she said in a statement.

The re-emergence of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi could deepen old wounds and create fresh divisions in this fractured country. For those who gathered in Martyrs’ Square in Tripoli six years ago demanding freedom it will be seen as a betrayal of the revolution. One man said it was like building a house just to have it torn down.

But many of those we spoke to around the square accepted his release. That is not so surprising perhaps given Libya’s descent into chaos since his father was overthrown.

One woman said that those who had come after Col Gaddafi had made an even bigger mess in Libya, and his son might bring stability. In the words of a young man, better the devil you know.

The former playboy often appeared in the West as the public face of the Gaddafi regime, and was his father’s heir apparent. His supporters will be hoping he returns to the political fray here, but he is still a wanted man.

The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said it was acting on a request from the “interim government” based in the east of the country.

However, Saif al-Islam has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Tripoli, in the west of the country, where control is in the hands of the rival, UN-backed Government of National Accord.

The 44-year-old Saif al-Islam was captured in November 2011 after three months on the run following the end of Muammar Gaddafi’s decades-long rule.

He was known for playing a key role in building relations with the West after 2000.

But after the 2011 uprising, he found himself accused of incitement to violence and murdering protesters.

Four years later, he was sentenced to death by firing squad following a trial involving 30 of Gaddafi’s close associates.

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Source: BBC

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Burundi, the Gambia and South Africa have all served notice of their desire to leave the ICC, accusing it of unfairly targeting African leaders for prosecution.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6BaVSocyBmXTiH5AhmcVDeQ914FywAio”]The ICC in the past 14 years, has brought charges against African leaders for various crimes but according to Judge Sabutinde, who hails from Uganda, the allegation by the African countries are unreasonable.

Addressing a group of journalists who were at the Hague on the invitation of the Dutch government to stay abreast of the International Justice System, Judge Sabutinde said, “the accusations that have been made against it [ICC], in my view do not make sense to me.”

“I sit and I take each argument and I measure it against the fact on the ground, such as the common statement, the ICC is persecuting African leaders. I take that statement and measure it against the fact.”

“In fact, more than three out of four cases were not instituted by the ICC, but were instituted by individual African states themselves,” he said.

‘African countries withdrawing from ICC’

In October this year, Gambia accused the International Criminal Court of ignoring “war crimes” in other countries and targeting African leaders.

Gambia’s Information Minister, Sheriff Bojang, in announcing the country’s withdrawal said “This action is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called the International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans,” on state television.

“There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted,” a government statement said.

South Africa and Burundi also withdrew their membership from the ICC in October this year.

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By: Eugenia Tenkorang/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He had been due to meet French President Francois Hollande and open a new Orthodox church later this month.

But after France’s government said talks would be confined to Syria the visit was halted, French presidential sources said.

On Monday, Mr Hollande suggested Russia could face war crimes charges over its bombardment of Syria’s city of Aleppo.

The French presidency had told the Russians Mr Hollande would attend only one event with Mr Putin during the visit planned for 19 October – a working meeting on Syria, according to the sources.

But after this Russia “let it be known that it wanted to postpone the visit”, they added.

A spokesman for Mr Putin confirmed the trip had been cancelled, adding that the visit would take place when it becomes “comfortable for President Hollande”.

Despite this Mr Hollande has said he will meet Mr Putin at “any time” if it would “further peace”.

The development comes a day after Mr Hollande told French TV that prosecutions over Syria could take place in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“These are people who today are the victims of war crimes. Those that commit these acts will have to face up to their responsibility, including in the ICC,” he said.

Neither Russia nor Syria is a member of the ICC.

Moscow has repeatedly denied attacking civilians, and says it targets terrorist groups in Syria.

The besieged east of Aleppo has come under intense aerial bombardment since a cessation of hostilities brokered by the US and Moscow collapsed last month.

The area was hit again on Tuesday in some of the heaviest air strikes in days, a monitoring group and activists said.

Eight civilians were killed in strikes on the Bustan al-Qasr and Fardos districts, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Diplomatic efforts to revive the ceasefire have so far come to nothing.

The UN has warned that eastern Aleppo, where an estimated 275,000 people still live, could face “total destruction” in two months.

Last week Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution drafted by France calling for an end to the bombing in Aleppo.

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Source: BBC

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