ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Gaddafi

THE HAGUE,  (Reuters) – The International Criminal  Court prosecutor said today he had requested arrest warrants  for Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the  country’s spy chief on charges of crimes against humanity.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had said earlier this month  he would seek three arrest warrants for the “pre-determined”  killing of protesters in Libya following U.N. Security Council  referral of the violence to the Hague-based court in February.
It had been widely expected that Moreno-Ocampo would seek an  arrest warrant for Libyan leader Gaddafi, but in addition to a  warrant for his son Saif, the prosecutor said he would also seek  the arrest of Libya’s head of espionage, Abdullah al-Senussi.
“The office gathered direct evidence about orders issued by  Muammar Gaddafi himself, direct evidence of Saif al-Islam  organising the recruitment of mercenaries and direct evidence of  the participation of al-Senussi in the attacks against  demonstrators,” Moreno-Ocampo said at the ICC.
He added the office of the prosecutor also documented how  the three held meetings “to plan the operations” and Gaddafi  used his “absolute authority to commit crimes in Libya”.
The ICC prosecutor has moved with unprecedented swiftness in  his investigation, with the request for arrest warrants coming  just two and a half months after it the Security Council  referral.
Moreno-Ocampo said the swiftness of his investigation stems  from global consensus that the crimes committed in Libya had to  be investigated, although judges will now need to decide whether  there is sufficient evidence to issue warrants.
The ICC has no police force and relies on member states to  enforce arrests. Despite NATO bombing operations intended to  protect civilians, Libya has been plunged into civil war,  seriously complicating efforts to arrest ICC suspects.