Tripoli, 12 October 2013:
The ICC decision to authorise Libya to try Qaddafi’s former spy chief Abdullah Al-Senussi has been . . .[restrict]welcomed by International NGO No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ).
“As the country has embarked on legislative reforms, the ICC ruling marks an historic opportunity for the Libyan authorities to demonstrate their ability to break with the legacy of impunity and abuses that typified Gaddafi’s rule,” said NPWJ Legal Counsel Alison Smith.
She added that it gave Libya an opportunity to hold the trial “with a new respect for the rule of law and to meet the promise of justice and redress for the victims and their families.”
Libya had already begun proceedings against Senussi, who faces charges of crimes against humanity. He appeared in a Tripoli court at pre-trial hearings with 36 other defendants on 19 September and 3 October. The cases were adjourned until 24 October, when the court will decide whether to press ahead with the charges.
Smith said that allowing the country to hold such trials in Libya could play a unique and significant role in supporting judicial reforms and enhancing the fairness, effectiveness and transparency of the Libyan judiciary.
Although the ICC arrest warrants against senior Qaddafi-era officials were welcomed by their victims and the people of Libya, a trial abroad was never something the people wanted, she said. Libyans wanted alleged perpetrators of crimes committed during the revolution “to face justice in the same place in which they allegedly waged their brutal attacks.”
It was now up to the Libyan judicial authorities to ensure that the proceedings would be conducted with fairness, impartiality and strict adherence to all due process rights, said Smith. [/restrict]
