ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda called for the immediate arrest of Gaddafi’s son and two others accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The two are Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a commander in Libyan National Army, and Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, who is wanted for committing crimes against humanity in 2011.
Bensouda said her office has reliable information that Seif al-Islam Gaddafi is believed to be in the Libyan town of Zintan.
As for Tuhamy, an arrest warrant was issued in 2017 but Bensouda said he ‘still resides in Cairo.’
Bensouda added that Werfalli ‘continues to enjoy his liberty in the Bengazi area,’ and was promoted in July from major to lieutenant colonel in Haftar’s force.
‘This promotion sends a clear message that general Khalifa Haftar, commander of the LNA, has no intention to genuinely prosecute Werfalli for the crimes alleged in the ICC arrest warrants,” she said.
‘I urge all states, including Libya, to facilitate the immediate arrest and surrender of the Libyan fugitives to the Court,’ Bensouda continued.
The three are wanted for war crimes including ‘murder, torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, and the crimes against humanity of persecution, imprisonment, torture, and other inhumane acts,’ she said.
Libyan leader Mustafa Zaidi told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the condition of the international institutions is frustrating, considering that the ICC has become a court specialized in Africa and prosecuting its security and political leaders.
Zaidi added that the charges against Seif al-Islam are lies and fabrications, noting that during the past years it has been proven that none of the accusations is correct. These charges aimed to provoke the international community to intervene in Libya and oust the regime.