By Online Team

03 June 2013:

The International Criminal Court’s pre-trial chamber has rejected Libya’s request to try the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, the BBC has reported.

Mr Gaddafi has been indicted by the ICC on war crimes charges relating to the 2011 uprising which toppled his father.  According to the BBC, Saif Gaddafi remains in the custody of a local militia that captured him in late 2011, and is not in official state custody.

This and other challenges meant Libya was not ready to host the trial, the pre-trial chamber’s judges said.  In a statement, the judges at The Hague recognised “Libya’s significant efforts to rebuild institutions and to restore the rule of law”.

However, Libya continued to “face substantial difficulties in exercising fully its judicial powers across the entire territory”, they added.  According to the BBC, Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani reiterated Libya’s belief that it has the right to prosecute its own citizens.

He said it was too early to comment on the ruling, describing it as a “complex dispute” that requires reviewing. The BBC’s Rana Jawad reports that members of Libya’s judiciary say it is important for Saif al-Islam to be tried for alleged war crimes on home soil to revive faith in the Libyan judiciary.

Mr Gaddafi, who was seen as the most likely successor to his father, was captured by militias in the desert town of Ubari in November 2011 – allegedly trying to flee the country.

He is being held in the town of Zintan, where he is facing separate charges, accused of complicity in exchanging information, obtaining documents that threaten national security and insulting the national flag.

The charges are linked to a visit to Mr Gaddafi in June 2012 by ICC lawyer Melinda Taylor and three other ICC staff.  Ms Taylor was accused of clandestinely passing Mr Gaddafi a coded letter from a fugitive former aide.

The ICC staff were held for three weeks and then released to The Hague; they are not expected to return to Libya to face charges.  END: Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates

Twitter: @UGCorrespondent

Facebook: Uganda Correspondent