International Court demands Libya hand over Gaddafi’s son
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, flashes the V-sign for victory as he appears in front of supporters and journalists in the Libyan capital Tripoli in the early hours of August 23, 2011.
The International Criminal Court has rejected Libya's request to try the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam.
Gaddafi has been indicted by the court on war crimes charges relating to the 2011 uprising which toppled his father from office. In June 2011, the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest for two counts of crimes against humanity.
At the same time, The Hague judges ruled Libya must surrender Qaddafi’s son to the court, rejecting an argument from Libyan authorities that wish to prosecute him themselves.
The ICC said Libyan courts “have no jurisdiction under the principle that the court only intervenes where local legal systems are not up to the job,” according to the BBC.
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In a statement from The Hague the judges conceded that Libya has made “significant efforts to rebuild institutions and to restore the rule of law” they concluded the nation still faces “substantial difficulties in exercising fully its judicial powers across the entire territory.”
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi remains in the custody of Libyan government officials in the town of Zintan who captured him in November 2011. At the time, he was reportedly trying to escape the country.