ICC seeks arrest warrants for prominent Libyans

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Friday he would seek arrest warrants on 16 May for three people considered most responsible for crimes against humanity in Libya.  

Francois Lenoir / Reuters

The prosecutor's office also said it would reveal the three names on Monday, with diplomats saying Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi is most likely to head the list.

A statement from the Office of the Prosecutor said the court judges may then decide to accept the application, reject it or ask for additional information.

Moreno-Ocampo said that after widespread inquiries, he had concluded that "there was enough evidence to present a request for arrest warrants for the commission of two categories" of crimes.

These were crimes against humanity and persecution.

More than 1,200 documents have been reviewed including videos and pictures and more than 50 interviews have been recorded or individuals screened to be interviewed.

Moreno-Ocampo on March 3 announced a probe into crimes against humanity
committed in Libya, including allegations against Kadhafi and three of his sons.

The Argentinian prosecutor is also targeting four other senior Libyan officials, including Libya's former top diplomat Mussa Kussa and former prime minister Abu Zeyd Omar Dorda, the director-general of the Libyan External Security Organisation.

Meanwhile, Libyan state television reports 16 civilians have been killed in a NATO air strike on Brega, to the east of the Libyan capital.

Both Al-Libya and Al-Jamahiriya channels carried the report, which could not be independently verified.

Rebels have been fighting Kadhafi loyalists since the regime put down pro-reform protests in mid-February.

NATO-led air strikes on Thursday hit Kadhafi's compound in Tripoli, killing three people, the Libyan regime said, as rebels celebrated the capture of Misrata airport and fresh diplomatic coups in the West.

while, International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Friday he would seek arrest warrants on 16 May for three people considered most responsible for crimes against humanity in Libya.

The prosecutor's office also said it would reveal the three names on Monday, with diplomats saying Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi is most likely to head the list.

A statement from the Office of the Prosecutor said the court judges may then decide to accept the application, reject it or ask for additional information.

Moreno-Ocampo said that after widespread inquiries, he had concluded that "there was enough evidence to present a request for arrest warrants for the commission of two categories" of crimes.

These were crimes against humanity and persecution.

More than 1,200 documents have been reviewed including videos and pictures and more than 50 interviews have been recorded or individuals screened to be interviewed.

Moreno-Ocampo on March 3 announced a probe into crimes against humanity
committed in Libya, including allegations against Kadhafi and three of his sons.

The Argentinian prosecutor is also targeting four other senior Libyan officials, including Libya's former top diplomat Mussa Kussa and former prime minister Abu Zeyd Omar Dorda, the director-general of the Libyan External Security Organisation.

Rebels have been fighting Kadhafi loyalists since the regime put down pro-reform protests in mid-February.

Nato-led air strikes on Thursday hit Kadhafi's compound in Tripoli, killing three people, the Libyan regime said, as rebels celebrated the capture of Misrata airport and fresh diplomatic coups in the West.