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See on Scoop.it - Saif al Islam

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam cannot get a fair trial in Libya and he claims if he is executed it would be tantamount to murder, his defense lawyers said…

See on Scoop.it - Saif al Islam

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam cannot get a fair trial in Libya and he claims if he is executed it would be tantamount to murder, his defense lawyers said…

“After nearly a year and a half of civil war and political turmoil, a Libyan criminal justice system that has barely begun to come to terms with the country’s past may be in danger of emulating its old mistakes, jurists and human rights activists warn.

Scores of former deputies of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi’s regime are held in special prisons and languish without trial or access to legal counsel. An estimated 9,000 other lower-ranking suspected war criminals are also being held in militia-run detention centres awaiting referral to a court system just beginning to get on its feet.

“After the judiciary system is back and running then they are ready to hand over prisoners so they can go through trials,” said Ali Sallabi, a leading Muslim cleric who has tried to foster reconciliation efforts between former regime supporters and the current authorities.

But the emergence of special courts for former regime insiders has lead to fears among some jurists that a parallel, politically-motivated special court system overseen by carefully vetted judges is already beginning to rise from the ashes of the former regime.

A prison and courtroom complex in Tripoli – known simply as the Rehabilitation Facility – is one of three in the country housing and trying high profile members of Col Gaddafi’s former regime. So far, only one of the defendants held here, Abuzeid Dorda, former external intelligence chief, has been brought to trial.

On a recent Tuesday, armed security officials escorted Mr Dorda to a defendants’ cage in front of a panel of judges. Prosecutors claimed they had witness testimony and wiretap recordings showing Mr Dorda had supplied weapons and ammunitions to fellow tribesmen to crush a rebellion in the country’s western mountains.

“I haven’t had a chance to sit down with my attorneys so that we are on the same page on a defence,” Mr Dorda pleaded. “Seven months of incarceration, being moved from one place to another, and I’ve still not had a chance to sit with my attorneys.”

His case was quickly adjourned until August 28.

Prison officials insist the rehabilitation facilities – the other two are in Benghazi and Misurata – protect former officials from harm and prevent the need to drive them in armed convoys along city streets.

“We’re dealing with very clear-cut cases of crimes during the revolution,” insists Othman al-Gilani, a former car dealer turned revolutionary who is now a spokesman at the Rehabilitation Facility. “In most cases, they carry these crimes on their backs.”

But some worry that former revolutionaries are creating separate tribunals which abide by their own rules, just as they have created parallel security forces under the ministries of defence and interior.

Judges trying cases at the Rehabilitation Facility must be vetted by a special “integrity” commission of the supreme court to make sure they were not former regime supporters.

There are also indications that standards of evidence for the defendants may be lower at the rehabilitation facilities than at other courts, which are sometimes unable to try cases against former regime insiders because documents were damaged during last year’s conflict.

“We are against the formation of special courts,” said Mohamed Abdul-Salaam Enwaji, chief judge of the North Tripoli Court of First Instance. “The defendants don’t have confidence in these courts. It’s as if the judges were chosen specifically to go after them.”

Libya’s legal system came under heightened international scrutiny after officials of the International Criminal Court were detained for nearly a month on charges of passing sensitive materials to Seif al-Islam Gaddafi during a recent visit.

Despite the doubts of international legal experts, Libyans insist they can try former regime stalwarts, including Seif al-Islam, on their own soil and have sought the extradition of former officials hiding abroad.

Libyan jurists say their government is unlikely to emulate the justice system of Col Gaddafi’s regime, which featured several layers of parallel justice, including a “People’s Court” and a “Revolutionary Court”.

But there is growing concern about the way the mechanism for trying the former regime stalwarts could mushroom, especially if authorities decide to expand its mandate to include crimes committed during Col Gaddafi’s rule or by low-level offenders.

“The right thing to do is to try these guys in the normal court, with each case assigned to the judge whose turn it happens to be, not to form special courts,” said Saleh Merghani, a celebrated Libyan human rights lawyer.

Despite the destruction of court buildings and police stations, and the documentary evidence they contained, legal experts say the ordinary criminal justice system is creaking back to life.

But it has so far refrained from taking up politically sensitive cases, including crimes by revolutionary militias. This may be because judges have been threatened and are scared to oversee controversial cases. “Some judges have had their homes burnt down,” Mr Enjawi said. “They have been attacked, threatened.”

There are also fears that some judges are Gaddafi loyalists. A purge of former regime remnants would bolster the revolutionaries’ confidence in the justice system, but many wonder who would adjudicate such cases.

Mr Merghani, who has sought justice for torture victims of the revolutionary militias as well as those killed by former regime operatives, says the Libyan legal system needs reform not dismantling. “It needs inspection and some repair,” he said. “We need to get better judges, to make the judges feel secure and independent. What Libya needs is a careful restructuring, not a full-scale purge.” »

((( Just if case FT see this ~~> [ PS.: Sorry FT I Copy-Paste - I can pay it with a Poem if U ask 4 a “Gratification” ] ))

SLAIN Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam believes he should be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC) if justice is to be served, his lawyers says

” SLAIN Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam believes he should be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC) if justice is to be served, his lawyers says.

“The only way for Libya and the Libyan people to have justice is for the ICC to try this case in a fair, impartial and independent manner,” he was quoted as saying in a defence document submitted to the court on Tuesday.

The Hague-based ICC has issued warrants against both Saif and his late father’s spymaster, Abdullah Senussi, for crimes against humanity committed while trying to put down last year’s bloody revolt.

Saif has been in custody in the southern Libyan town of Zintan since his November in the wake of the uprising that toppled Gaddafi after more than 40 years in power.

The ICC and the Libyan government are locked in a dispute over where Saif should be tried.

“I would have liked to have been tried in Libya by Libyan judges under Libyan law in front of the Libyan people,” Saif was quoted as saying in the document, issued after ICC lawyers visited him last month.

“There will also be no truth if witnesses are faced with possible life sentences for simply testifying in my favour,” he said. “I am not afraid to die but if you execute me after such a trial you should just call it murder.”

His Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor and four ICC staff members were freed earlier this month after being held in Libya four almost four weeks while visiting Saif on behalf of the court.

Taylor said after her release she believed it would be “impossible” for Saif to be tried in an independent and impartial manner in Libyan courts. “ 

“After nearly a year and a half of civil war and political turmoil, a Libyan criminal justice system that has barely begun to come to terms with the country’s past may be in danger of emulating its old mistakes, jurists and human rights activists warn.

Scores of former deputies of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi’s regime are held in special prisons and languish without trial or access to legal counsel. An estimated 9,000 other lower-ranking suspected war criminals are also being held in militia-run detention centres awaiting referral to a court system just beginning to get on its feet.

“After the judiciary system is back and running then they are ready to hand over prisoners so they can go through trials,” said Ali Sallabi, a leading Muslim cleric who has tried to foster reconciliation efforts between former regime supporters and the current authorities.

But the emergence of special courts for former regime insiders has lead to fears among some jurists that a parallel, politically-motivated special court system overseen by carefully vetted judges is already beginning to rise from the ashes of the former regime.

A prison and courtroom complex in Tripoli – known simply as the Rehabilitation Facility – is one of three in the country housing and trying high profile members of Col Gaddafi’s former regime. So far, only one of the defendants held here, Abuzeid Dorda, former external intelligence chief, has been brought to trial.

On a recent Tuesday, armed security officials escorted Mr Dorda to a defendants’ cage in front of a panel of judges. Prosecutors claimed they had witness testimony and wiretap recordings showing Mr Dorda had supplied weapons and ammunitions to fellow tribesmen to crush a rebellion in the country’s western mountains.

“I haven’t had a chance to sit down with my attorneys so that we are on the same page on a defence,” Mr Dorda pleaded. “Seven months of incarceration, being moved from one place to another, and I’ve still not had a chance to sit with my attorneys.”

His case was quickly adjourned until August 28.

Prison officials insist the rehabilitation facilities – the other two are in Benghazi and Misurata – protect former officials from harm and prevent the need to drive them in armed convoys along city streets.

“We’re dealing with very clear-cut cases of crimes during the revolution,” insists Othman al-Gilani, a former car dealer turned revolutionary who is now a spokesman at the Rehabilitation Facility. “In most cases, they carry these crimes on their backs.”

But some worry that former revolutionaries are creating separate tribunals which abide by their own rules, just as they have created parallel security forces under the ministries of defence and interior.

Judges trying cases at the Rehabilitation Facility must be vetted by a special “integrity” commission of the supreme court to make sure they were not former regime supporters.

There are also indications that standards of evidence for the defendants may be lower at the rehabilitation facilities than at other courts, which are sometimes unable to try cases against former regime insiders because documents were damaged during last year’s conflict.

“We are against the formation of special courts,” said Mohamed Abdul-Salaam Enwaji, chief judge of the North Tripoli Court of First Instance. “The defendants don’t have confidence in these courts. It’s as if the judges were chosen specifically to go after them.”

Libya’s legal system came under heightened international scrutiny after officials of the International Criminal Court were detained for nearly a month on charges of passing sensitive materials to Seif al-Islam Gaddafi during a recent visit.

Despite the doubts of international legal experts, Libyans insist they can try former regime stalwarts, including Seif al-Islam, on their own soil and have sought the extradition of former officials hiding abroad.

Libyan jurists say their government is unlikely to emulate the justice system of Col Gaddafi’s regime, which featured several layers of parallel justice, including a “People’s Court” and a “Revolutionary Court”.

But there is growing concern about the way the mechanism for trying the former regime stalwarts could mushroom, especially if authorities decide to expand its mandate to include crimes committed during Col Gaddafi’s rule or by low-level offenders.

“The right thing to do is to try these guys in the normal court, with each case assigned to the judge whose turn it happens to be, not to form special courts,” said Saleh Merghani, a celebrated Libyan human rights lawyer.

Despite the destruction of court buildings and police stations, and the documentary evidence they contained, legal experts say the ordinary criminal justice system is creaking back to life.

But it has so far refrained from taking up politically sensitive cases, including crimes by revolutionary militias. This may be because judges have been threatened and are scared to oversee controversial cases. “Some judges have had their homes burnt down,” Mr Enjawi said. “They have been attacked, threatened.”

There are also fears that some judges are Gaddafi loyalists. A purge of former regime remnants would bolster the revolutionaries’ confidence in the justice system, but many wonder who would adjudicate such cases.

Mr Merghani, who has sought justice for torture victims of the revolutionary militias as well as those killed by former regime operatives, says the Libyan legal system needs reform not dismantling. “It needs inspection and some repair,” he said. “We need to get better judges, to make the judges feel secure and independent. What Libya needs is a careful restructuring, not a full-scale purge.” »

((( Just if case FT see this ~~> [ PS.: Sorry FT I Copy-Paste - I can pay it with a Poem if U ask 4 a “Gratification” ] ))

See on Scoop.it - Saif al Islam

Slain Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam believes he should be tried before the International Criminal Court if justice is to be served, his lawyers said Tuesday.

SLAIN Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam believes he should be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC) if justice is to be served, his lawyers says

” SLAIN Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam believes he should be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC) if justice is to be served, his lawyers says.

“The only way for Libya and the Libyan people to have justice is for the ICC to try this case in a fair, impartial and independent manner,” he was quoted as saying in a defence document submitted to the court on Tuesday.

The Hague-based ICC has issued warrants against both Saif and his late father’s spymaster, Abdullah Senussi, for crimes against humanity committed while trying to put down last year’s bloody revolt.

Saif has been in custody in the southern Libyan town of Zintan since his November in the wake of the uprising that toppled Gaddafi after more than 40 years in power.

The ICC and the Libyan government are locked in a dispute over where Saif should be tried.

“I would have liked to have been tried in Libya by Libyan judges under Libyan law in front of the Libyan people,” Saif was quoted as saying in the document, issued after ICC lawyers visited him last month.

“There will also be no truth if witnesses are faced with possible life sentences for simply testifying in my favour,” he said. “I am not afraid to die but if you execute me after such a trial you should just call it murder.”

His Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor and four ICC staff members were freed earlier this month after being held in Libya four almost four weeks while visiting Saif on behalf of the court.

Taylor said after her release she believed it would be “impossible” for Saif to be tried in an independent and impartial manner in Libyan courts. “ 

Die Kronen Zeitung, one of the central newspapers in Austria, has joined this information war. In its story about the war in Syria it used Photoshop following the example of the Qatari film studios, which created fake footage about the brutality of the Muammar Gaddafi regime. Those films were financed by Saudi Arabia.

Back then many Arab mass media outlets caught Qatar distorting the events in Libya. Recently, bloggers have caught Die Kroner Zeitung publishing a fake photo. The photo shows a family of refugees against the background of the ruined city of Aleppo, which is the economic capital of Syria. The man is holding a child in his arms and the woman is in a headscarf are walking the street gripped by the flames of war. The comment under the photo read: the tanks of the army of Assad are laying the road to Aleppo, the stronghold of the opposition. …”

See on Scoop.it - Saif al Islam

REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Abdullah bin Shamar, a Saudi student, puts a small copy of the Koran among his few belongings packed neatly in a holdall as he prepares to set off with a Libyan friend across…

See on Scoop.it - Seif al Islam al Gaddafi

REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Abdullah bin Shamar, a Saudi student, puts a small copy of the Koran among his few belongings packed neatly in a holdall as he prepares to set off with a Libyan friend across…

See on Scoop.it - Saif al Islam

Saadi Gadhafi, one of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, has asked the United Nations to let him travel outside Niger, his lawyer says.

See on Scoop.it - Seif al Islam al Gaddafi

”(…) Some of the more immediate challenges within this hinge directly on what happens next with the armed brigades. In March 2012, the United Nations estimated that between 5,000-6,000 so-called “conflict-related detainees” remained within the custody of armed brigades, while another 2,400 individuals are in state custody. The militias have no authority to detain under Libyan law and torture in militia-run facilities has been widely documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others. According to Human Rights Watch, the detainee population is comprised of Gaddafi security force members, former Gaddafi government officials, suspected Gaddafi loyalists, suspected foreign mercenaries or migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. While some of these individuals are suspected of serious crimes, it is unclear how many detainees have had access to a judicial process to review their detention.
 
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is among the most high-profile of those currently being detained. Although Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is held by the Zintan militia in western Libya, the Government claims his detention has been authorised by the Libyan Prosecutor General and is subject to judicial supervision. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is wanted on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and ICC judges are currently reviewing Libya’s petition to take back the Saif al-Islam Gaddafi case in order to try him at home. If the Libyan authorities can prove they are able and willing to prosecute the case, the ICC may defer under what is known as its “complementarity” principle.
 
The Dorda case might have been a potential test of the Libyan system’s ability to mete out fair justice for serious crimes, but it will now start no earlier than 28 August 2012. But in an even greater setback to the efforts of the Libyans to try Saif al-Islam Gaddafi at home, the Zintan militia detained four ICC staff, including his court-appointed defence lawyer, on an official court visit. The detention violated the immunity to which the four are entitled via the United Nations Security Council referral that sent the case to the ICC. Their release was secured only after a month of negotiations between the Zintan militia, central Libyan authorities, the ICC and the international community, reflecting the weak position of the central authorities vis-à-vis the militia and raising serious questions as to whether Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will be able to secure an effective defence at home. (…) “
 

”(…) Some of the more immediate challenges within this hinge directly on what happens next with the armed brigades. In March 2012, the United Nations estimated that between 5,000-6,000 so-called “conflict-related detainees” remained within the custody of armed brigades, while another 2,400 individuals are in state custody. The militias have no authority to detain under Libyan law and torture in militia-run facilities has been widely documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others. According to Human Rights Watch, the detainee population is comprised of Gaddafi security force members, former Gaddafi government officials, suspected Gaddafi loyalists, suspected foreign mercenaries or migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. While some of these individuals are suspected of serious crimes, it is unclear how many detainees have had access to a judicial process to review their detention.
 
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is among the most high-profile of those currently being detained. Although Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is held by the Zintan militia in western Libya, the Government claims his detention has been authorised by the Libyan Prosecutor General and is subject to judicial supervision. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is wanted on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and ICC judges are currently reviewing Libya’s petition to take back the Saif al-Islam Gaddafi case in order to try him at home. If the Libyan authorities can prove they are able and willing to prosecute the case, the ICC may defer under what is known as its “complementarity” principle.
 
The Dorda case might have been a potential test of the Libyan system’s ability to mete out fair justice for serious crimes, but it will now start no earlier than 28 August 2012. But in an even greater setback to the efforts of the Libyans to try Saif al-Islam Gaddafi at home, the Zintan militia detained four ICC staff, including his court-appointed defence lawyer, on an official court visit. The detention violated the immunity to which the four are entitled via the United Nations Security Council referral that sent the case to the ICC. Their release was secured only after a month of negotiations between the Zintan militia, central Libyan authorities, the ICC and the international community, reflecting the weak position of the central authorities vis-à-vis the militia and raising serious questions as to whether Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will be able to secure an effective defence at home. (…) “
 

See on Scoop.it - Saif al Islam

  Gaddafi corners the clown Sarkozy: Mediapart Cited by the Police to Tell the Truth Sarkozy has nightmares with Gaddafi A normal Presidency justice, natural?  This requirement is tested by th…

(…)

Who is behind the Atrocities?

Whereas the government bears a burden of responsibility pertaining to the conduct of its military operations in urban areas directed against the rebels, the gruesome human rights record of the US-NATO supported “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) is unequivocal. Amply documented, the killings of innocent civilians were not carried by the government but, quite deliberately, by the Free Syrian Army (FSA). 

These killings were implemented as part of a diabolical intelligence operation, which consisted in blaming the Syrian government for the atrocities committed by rebel forces. (See Michel Chossudovsky, SYRIA: Killing Innocent Civilians as part of a US Covert Op. Mobilizing Public Support for a R2P War against Syria, Global Research, May 30, 2012) 

The substance of Russia’s finger pointing is confirmed by numerous reports.

According to the leaked Arab League Observer Mission Report:  which had initially been commissioned by the Arab League at Washington’s behest:

“In Homs, Idlib and Hama, the Observer Mission witnessed acts of violence being committed against Government forces and civilians that resulted in several deaths and injuries. Examples of those acts include the bombing of a civilian bus, killing eight persons and injuring others, including women and children. …  Such incidents include the bombing of buildings, trains carrying fuel, vehicles carrying diesel oil and explosions targeting the police, members of the media and fuel pipelines. Some of those attacks have been carried out by the Free Syrian Army and some by other armed opposition groups.” (League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria, Report of the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria for the period from 24 December 2011 to 18 January 2012, 

The Arab League Observer mission report was subsequently shelved because it revealed the forbidden truth, namely that the US-NATO sponsored “rebels” rather than the government were behind the massacres. (…) 

See on Scoop.it - Saif al Islam

No Encontro Mundial dos Blogueiros, ocorrido em Foz do Iguaçu, no final de outubro/2011, vários jornalistas e blogueiros de todo o mundo participaram. Aqui v…

“The United States has a strategic interest in a stable and prosperous Libya, and is supporting Libya’s democratic transition in cooperation with the UN and other international partners. Recognizing Libya’s own substantial resources, the United States has focused on building Libyan institutions and increasing its capacity to govern effectively, hold free and fair elections, and manage public finances transparently and responsibly. We have also provided targeted assistance to support the development of Libyan civil society and its security forces. Investing modestly in Libya’s future will help further advance Libya’s democratic transition, promote stability, and strengthen the U.S.-Libya partnership. 

The majority of the $170 million in U.S. assistance to Libya was provided to respond to urgent humanitarian and security challenges in the immediate aftermath of the conflict. Additional assistance is focused on supporting capacity building efforts within government institutions, developing civil society, and facilitating free and fair elections. All programs advance key U.S. interests by filling critical capacity gaps within U.S.-Libya identified transition priorities. All projects are being coordinated with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The United States has also resumed a full range of people-to-people programming and exchanges, to include scholarships, fellowships, English-language education, educational advising, cultural preservation, and short term visits and training in the United States. …”

The Libyan civil war of 2011-12 had been fought expressly to reinstate the 1952 Constitution, however, the government create by the NTC bears little resemblance to the…

“Libyans went, on July 7, 2012, into their first national elections in decades, and foreign observers hailed the fact that the event took place so well, and that democracy had returned to the Maghreb state. What went unsaid — because most external observers failed to comprehend the complexity of the situation — was that the actual basis of the electoral structure had been shaped by external forces. 

Yes, there was widespread voting for a slate of candidates. But the parliament for which the Libyans voted had already become a body which had broken the carefully-balanced structure created by the 1952 Constitution. Indeed, the Libyan civil war of 2011-12 had been fought expressly to reinstate the 1952 Constitution, and the fighting had taken place under the 1952 Constitutional flag, now adopted as the flag of post-Qadhafi Libya.