LOC21:35
18:35 GMT
NEW YORK, Nov 5 (KUNA) -- Libya must transfer Saif Al-Islam Al-Gaddafi to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) without further delay, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the Security Council this morning.
Presenting her tenth report, ICC Prosecutor Bensouda told the Council that Al-Gaddafi has not been surrendered to their custody, and that the "Libyan authorities must heed the Council's calls for cooperation and comply with the ICC request to immediately surrender Saif Al-Islam Al-Gaddafi to the ICC."
Bensouda affirmed that the Libyan authorities are under a clear legal obligation to do so, and remain "non-compliant" by failing to surrender him into ICC custody.
She then noted that Libya explained that the death sentence against Saif Al-Islam was "non-enforceable" in Libya, because his trial was held "in absentia," and that he will enjoy an absolute right to a new trial when he is transferred from Zintan into the custody of the Libyan authorities.
"Libya acknowledged that Saif Al-Islam was not in its custody," she stressed.
Bensouda's office requested resources for additional investigations as part of its 2016 proposed budget for consideration by the states parties of the international criminal court, however, she said, there are indications that those resources will likely not be forthcoming.
It is of paramount importance that the ongoing crimes committed by different actors in Libya are investigated and that the ICC is provided the requisite resources to undertake these necessary investigations in accordance with its mandate, she added.
She then reiterated her previous calls to assist Libya to strengthen its national capacity to respond to Rome Statute crimes through the formation of an international contact group on justice issues.
"Ending impunity for atrocity crimes in Libya is an important goal that is both achievable and necessary for sustainable peace and stability in the country," she added.
On his part, the Libyan Ambassador to the UN affirmed in his address to the Council, that the Ministry of Justice in the interim Libyan government had declared its "non-recognition" of court decisions against former officials when trials are done in areas ruled by illegal armed groups.
Back in 2014, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC affirmed the admissibility of the case against Saif Al-Islam Al-Gaddafi and the inadmissibility of the case against Abdullah Al-Senussi.
This year, Tripoli Court of Assize sentenced both among other co-defendants to death for the crimes they allegedly committed during Libya's 2011 uprising.(end)
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