The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants yesterday for Muammar Qaddafi, his son Seif and his intelligence chief for crimes against humanity in Qaddafi’s four-month battle to cling to power.
Judges announced that the three men are wanted for orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of an uprising to topple Qaddafi from power, and for trying to cover up the alleged crimes.
The warrants turn Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam Qaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah al--Sanoussi into internationally wanted suspects, potentially complicating efforts to mediate an end to more than four months of intense fighting in the North African nation.
Presiding judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana said yesterday there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that Qaddafi and his son are both “criminally responsible as indirect co-perpetrators” for the murder and persecution of civilians.
She called Qaddafi the “undisputed leader of Libya” who had “absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control” over his country’s military and security forces.
Libyan officials rejected the court’s authority even before the decision was read in a Hague courtroom, saying the court had unfairly targeted Africans, while ignoring what they called crimes committed by NATO in Afghanistan, Iraq “and in Libya now.”
“The ICC has no legitimacy whatsoever. We will deal with it … All of its activities are directed at African leaders,” government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told reporters on Sunday.
Monageng said evidence presented by prosecutors showed that following popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Qaddafi and his inner circle plotted a “state policy ... aimed at deterring and quelling by any means — including by the use of lethal force — the demonstrations by civilians against the regime.”
She said it was impossible to put an exact number on the casualties, but said Qaddafi’s security forces likely “killed and injured as well as arrested and imprisoned hundreds of civilians.”
Prosecutors at the court said the three suspects should be arrested quickly “to prevent them covering up ongoing crimes and committing new crimes.”
“This is the only way to protect civilians in Libya,” the statement from the office of chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said.
In Tripoli, two loud explosions shook the area near Qaddafi’s compound yesterday. NATO jets were heard over the Libyan capital minutes after the blasts as sirens from emergency vehicles blared in the streets.
The thunderous late-morning blasts were felt at a hotel where foreign journalists stay in Tripoli.
Smoke rose from the area near Qaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya complex, where Libyans hold daily rallies in support of the government. Qaddafi is not believed to be staying in the compound.
It wasn’t immediately clear what was hit or if there were civilian casualties.
A coalition including France, Britain and the US began striking Qaddafi’s forces 100 days ago under a UN 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.
See ARMED on page 7
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from