Russia calls on U.N.'s help with Libya

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MOSCOW, June 14 (UPI) -- The Russian foreign minister called on the U.N. Security Council to weigh in on last week's detention of ICC lawyers by Libyan authorities.

Australian defense lawyer Melinda Taylor and Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Khodakov were among the four staff members from the International Criminal Court detained in Zintan last week.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the U.N. Security Council had an obligation to assess potential violations.

"We believe that the U.N. Security Council should provide its feedback on the case," he was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying.

The ICC team was in Libya to meet with Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The ICC charged Saif al-Islam with crimes against humanity. He was captured last year by rebel forces in Zintan.

Taylor is alleged to have passed coded messages to Saif al-Islam by his captors.

The Russian news service reports that Libyan prosecutors said the ICC members are held in a pretrial detention center. They could remain there 45 days.

The ICC this week reminded Libyan authorities that the lawyers enjoy immunity.