Int’l Criminal Court says Libyan war crimes suspect now in custody

Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri is wanted for allegedly committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Libya between 2015 and 2020, according to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

El Hishri was detained in the Netherlands’ The Hague on Monday by German authorities, where he was detained on July 16 this year.

According to a statement from the ICC, “Mr. El Hishri is alleged to be one of the most senior Mitiga Prison officials, where thousands of people were detained for protracted periods.”

He is suspected of having committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence, that he allegedly committed in Libya between February 2015 and early 2020, according to the court.

Following a request from the UN Security Council (UNSC), the ICC has been looking into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Libya since March 2011.

Situation in #Libya: Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri is being held by the ICC Detention Center in The Hague (Netherlands). Mr. El Hishri’s initial court appearance will be scheduled for a hearing in due course. Learn more ⤵️ https://t.co/6kvEZ6Ei1Y

El Hishri’s release from the ICC’s custody comes a week after Nazhat Shameem Khan, the court’s deputy prosecutor, gave a full update on the status of the ongoing case to the 15-member UNSC in New York, stating that “there is a new momentum towards justice in Libya.”

She told the UNSC, “For too long, crimes committed in Libya have represented a no-go area for accountability.” However, she continued, noting that the court has been subject to “unprecedented headwinds,” including officials’ intimidation.

The most from these coercive actions is the victim(s) of murder, sexual assault, torture, and other most serious crimes that our Court has investigated, she said.

Libya has ratified the court’s jurisdiction over its territory from 2011 to the end of 2027, as of May this year, despite not adhering to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Osama Elmasry Njeem and Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the ICC still has nine other outstanding arrest warrants related to the same case.

Njeem was detained in Italy in January of this year, but he was reportedly released and taken back to Libya, where he was facing arrest last month, according to media reports.

Njeem’s release from Italian detention was the occasion of the ICC’s release, urging governments that are parties to the Rome Statute, which includes Italy, to “cooper fully with the Court in its investigations and prosecutions of crimes.”

The ICC, which was established in 2002, is tasked with prosecuting individuals accused of crimes against humanity and serious crimes.

To carry out its decisions, the court relies on the support of its member states.