ICC court issues secret arrest warrants for Libya crimes
“I can announce today that four warrants were issued by the independent judges of the International Criminal Court,” Karim Khan said in presenting his half-yearly report on Libya to the UN body.
He added that his office in the last few weeks had applied for two more arrest warrants, but judges have not yet ruled on those applications.
But who has been targetted in this latest move?
The warrants are currently under seal, so it is not clear who is targeted or what crimes specifically the ICC prosecutor is charging. There is much speculation in Libya that Eastern warlorld Khalifa Haftar might have one issued to him, following the legal cases which he has faced in the US.
The prosecutor has asked judges for the warrants to be unsealed and a decision is pending.
The situation in Libya was referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council in 2011 and on its website the court says the focus of the investigation is alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the country since 15 February 2011.
Libya has known little peace since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising and split in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions. Major fighting ended in 2020, but there has been little progress to a political solution and armed factions dominate on the ground.
