Tripoli, 8 September:
The trial of Saif Qaddafi is to be delayed in order to gather evidence concerning him from Abdullah Al-Senussi, who was extradited to Libya on Wednesday.
Senussi, who is also the brother-in-law of Muammar Qaddafi, is expected to know the secrets of many former regime figures, including Saif.
“We expect the trial of Saif al-Islam to be delayed a little because Abdullah Senussi will be able to provide new information that can be used in Saif’s trial,” said prosecution spokesman Taha Bara.
Several conflicting reports have emerged from various political and judicial leaders in the past few weeks as to when and where Saif’s trial will be held.
Both the attorney general and the justice minister had said the trial was to begin in the second half of this month, although the deputy prime minister and the speaker of the Congress have previously denied that any such decision has been made.
There have also been suggestions that the trial would take place in Zintan, although this has been refuted by the government.
As yet, it is not believed that agreement has been reached with the Zintanis over the question of Saif’s trial, and the commencement of court proceedings this month always looked highly unlikely.
Further complicating matters is the outstanding warrant for Saif’s arrest that was issued by the International Criminal Court last year. The court has also issued a warrant for Abdullah Al-Senussi. Both men are wanted on charges of Crimes Against Humanity.
At present, the court has suspended its request for Libya to hand Saif over to The Hague for trial, pending the outcome of an investigation it is conducting as to whether Libya could try him fairly itself.
Any attempt by Tripoli to pre-empt the outcome of that enquiry by ignoring the ICC and starting with the trial anyway will be seen as a significant snub to the court that is likely to generate some controversy internationally.
Much may ultimately depend on who becomes prime minister on Sunday. Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur, one of the front-runners for the post, has told this paper that he wants the ICC to be involved in any trial of Saif and that Libya would not simply ignore the court. [/restrict]
