Putting the son of fallen Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi on trial on their own soil is a matter of national pride for Libya’s leaders.Libya is standing firm on trying Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, once the heir apparent to his father’s one-man rule. But so is the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, which indicted him in June for crimes against humanity stemming from the crackdown on last year’s revolt.On Apr 30 Libya will outline to ICC judges in the Hague how it intends to try Seif Al-Islam. If the court concludes that Libya cannot or will not try him, and is not cooperating with its own case, it can refer Tripoli to the UN Security Council.
Pressure is mounting on Tripoli to hand Seif Al-Islam to the ICC as human rights groups question whether its justice system can meet the standards of international law. Libya has filed several appeals, requesting more time to make the case that it can try Saif-al Islam itself.Five months after he was captured far away in the Sahara desert dressed as a Bedouin tribesman, Seif Al-Islam remains in the mountain town of Zintan in the hands of militia fighters who captured him, ostensibly to keep him from harm until Libya’s new rulers can organise a trial.