ICC pushes Libya for Saif al-Islam Gadhafi

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 6 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court demanded Libya give up ex-dictator Moammar Gadhafi's son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi so he can be tried for crimes against humanity.

The 39-year-old London School of Economics doctoral graduate has been held largely without access to the outside world since his Nov. 19, 2011, capture by post-revolution Libyan fighters as he tried to flee to neighboring Niger. His father had been killed a month earlier.

"The brutal death of Moammar Gadhafi deprived the Libyan people of their right to justice, and their right to the truth. It would be a travesty for the prospects of a free and fair Libyan state if the same were to occur to his son," lawyers Xavier-Jean Keita and Melinda Taylor, appointed by the ICC to represent Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, said in a statement.

Gadhafi has been kept in a "legal black hole," held for 139 days in "total isolation" except for visits from officials, the lawyers said.

Libyan authorities say they intend to put Gadhafi on trial, but they have charged him with "trivial allegations," such as failure to license his camels, and with irregularities concerning fish farms, the lawyers said.

By contrast, the permanent tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, wants to prosecute him for crimes against humanity and issued an arrest warrant against Moammar Gadhafi's former heir apparent last June, they said.

A U.N. Security Council resolution requires Gadhafi be delivered to the court, and ICC judges urged Libya's rulers Wednesday to "proceed immediately with the surrender."

"At no point have the Libyan authorities been legally justified in their failure to surrender him to the ICC," the lawyers said Thursday.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said if Libyan authorities can adequately explain their plans, the court would let Libya proceed with its case.

"According to the rules, Libya has the primacy to prosecute Saif, so if they present this to the International Criminal Court judges, probably they will get an approval," Moreno-Ocampo said.

"That's the system. The system is the primacy for the national judges," he said.

Libya is understood to be pursing evidence for capital crimes, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.