International judges issue Gadhafi international arrest warrant for crimes again

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International judges issue Gadhafi international arrest warrant for crimes

against humanity

By Mike Corder, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – Mon, 27 Jun, 2011

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - International judges ordered the arrest of Moammar

Gadhafi on Monday for murdering Libyan civilians who rose up against him, as

NATO warplanes pounded his Tripoli compound and world leaders stepped up calls

for the Libyan leader to resign.

The International Criminal Court said Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi and

his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi are wanted for orchestrating the

killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the

first 12 days of an uprising to topple Gadhafi from power, and for trying to

cover up their alleged crimes.

The warrants from The Hague court turn the three men into internationally wanted

suspects, potentially complicating efforts to mediate an end to more than four

months of intense fighting in the North African nation. The warrants will be

sent to Libya, where Gadhafi remains defiantly entrenched.

Presiding judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana called Gadhafi the " undisputed leader

of Libya " who had " absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control " over his

country's military and security forces. She said prosecutors presented evidence

showing that following popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Gadhafi and his

inner circle plotted a " state policy ... aimed at deterring and quelling by any

means — including by the use of lethal force — demonstrations by civilians

against the regime. "

Hundreds of civilians were killed, injured or arrested, she said, adding there

were " reasonable grounds to believe " that Gadhafi and his son were both

responsible for the murder and persecution of civilians.

Prosecutors said the three suspects should be arrested quickly " to prevent them

covering up ongoing crimes and committing new crimes. "

Gadhafi's regime rejected the court's authority even before the decision was

read, accusing the court of unfairly targeting Africans while ignoring what it

called crimes committed by NATO in Afghanistan, Iraq " and in Libya now. "

" The ICC has no legitimacy whatsoever ... all of its activities are directed at

African leaders, " Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told reporters

Sunday.

Rebels welcomed the court's action, but appeared divided about where Gadhafi

should ultimately stand trial.

Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, head of the Benghazi Interim Council, said rebels would

" welcome all assistance from the friendly countries " to help arrest the Libyan

leader, and said: " We will hand Gadhafi to (the) ICC. "

Mohammed al-Alaqi, justice minister in the Libyan rebel administration, picked

up a copy of the warrant from the court, but suggested Gadhafi could be

prosecuted in Libya " under the standards of this court. "

He also hoped the warrants would persuade Gadhafi's forces to defect.

" Maybe this decision will make the military brigades change their minds, because

Gadhafi and his son have no future at all, " he said.

In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the court's

decision highlighted the increasing isolation of the Gadhafi's regime.

" It reinforces the reason for NATO's mission, to protect the Libyan people from

Gadhafi's forces, " he said Monday, adding that the Libyan leader and his

supporters need to realize that " time is rapidly running out for them. "

NATO air forces have been conducting daily air strikes against military targets

in Libya for the past 100 days — a bombing campaign that has drawn increasing

international criticism.

In Tripoli, two loud explosions shook the area near Gadhafi's compound Monday,

setting off a chorus of emergency sirens in the Libyan capital. Libyan officials

said NATO fired two missiles targeting Gadhafi's personal bus, about 100 yards

(meters) from the human shields the Libyan government keeps inside Gadhafi's Bab

al-Aziziya compound.

Journalists were taken to see a heavily damaged, burnt-out bus inside the

compound two hours after the strike. It didn't appear to have been struck

recently, however, since it was cool to the touch. No one was reported killed in

the strike, though officials said two people were slightly injured.

A coalition including France, Britain and the United States began striking

Gadhafi's forces under a United Nations resolution to protect civilians on March

19. NATO assumed control of the air campaign over Libya on March 31 and is

joined by a number of Arab allies.

European nations praised the warrants.

" Gadhafi is now a fugitive from international justice, " British Prime Minister

Cameron told lawmakers in the House of Commons. " The pressure and the time

is telling on Gadhafi, and we will not let up until the job is done. "

In Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said " after 41 years of dictatorship,

it is perhaps time to stop, for him to leave power. "

The Foreign Ministry of Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler, said the warrants

confirmed that Gadhafi had " lost all legitimacy, political and moral. "

" As such, he can have no role to play in Libya's future, " it said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, however, warned that military action alone won't

solve the crisis in Libya, and said his nation backs attempts to reach a

political solution there.

" Foreign troops may be able to win war in a place, but they can hardly win

peace. Hard lessons have been learned from what has happened in the Middle East

and Afghanistan, " Wen told reporters Monday in London.

Wen said China has had recent contacts with both Gadhafi's regime and the main

opposition leadership based in eastern Libya.

It's unclear how the arrest warrant could restrict Gadhafi's travels within

Africa, since many African states are not ICC signatories and others have

declined to act on an ICC arrest warrant for another African leader, Sudanese

President al-Bashir. The Sudanese leader was on his way to China at

Beijing's invitation when the warrant was announced for Gadhafi.

The African Union has said al-Bashir's arrest would dangerously imperil the

fragile peace process in Sudan and had asked the U.N. to defer the warrant for

one year. The AU's host country of Ethiopia is not an ICC member.

Gadhafi regularly attends AU summits. The AU will hold a summit later this week

in Equatorial Guinea, which is also not an ICC member.

___

Adam Schreck in Tripoli, Libya contributed to this report