Press Release: 1 June 2012

Postponement of the execution of the request for surrender of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi to the ICC

ICC-CPI-20120601-PR801

Situation: Libya
Case: The Prosecutor v. Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi

Today, 1 June 2012, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided that Libya may postpone its execution of the ICC’s request for surrender of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, pursuant to article 95 of the Rome Statute, pending the ICC’s final determination of Libya’s challenge to the admissibility of the case, dated 1 May 2012.

Without entering into the discussion of whether the case is admissible, the Chamber emphasized that “the arrest warrant [against Mr Gaddafi] remains valid (…), and accordingly Libya must ensure that all necessary measures are taken during the postponement in order to ensure the possibility of an immediate execution of the Surrender Request should the case be found admissible”.

The situation in Libya was referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council, through the unanimous adoption of Resolution 1970 on 26 February 2011. On 27 June 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi for crimes against humanity (murder and persecution) allegedly committed across Libya from 15 February 2011 until at least 28 February 2011, through the State apparatus and Security Forces. On 22 November 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber I formally terminated the case against Muammar Gaddafi due to his death.

Decision on the postponement of the execution of the request for surrender of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi pursuant to article 95 of the Rome Statute


 

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube and Twitter.