Libya: ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Colonel Gaddafi
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the country's spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, on charges of crimes against humanity.


ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had in May asked the court to issue arrest warrants for the "pre-determined" killing of protesters in Libya following after the UN Security Council referred the issue to the court.

Gaddafi has "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control" over Libya's state apparatus and its security forces, presiding judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said in reading out the ruling.

She added that both Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam "conceived and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell by all means the civilian demonstrations" against the regime and that al-Senussi used his position of command to have attacks carried out.

Gaddafi, who has run his oil-producing Arab North African country since a military coup in 1969, is under pressure to relinquish power from rebels who rose up against his rule and from a NATO bombing campaign.

But more than three months into the NATO campaign, fissures are showing within the Western alliance and it is feared that the ICC warrant could also trigger greater violence in Libya as Gaddafi tries to cling to power. » | Monday, June 27, 2011

Inside Story: Time Ticking for NATO in Libya
After three months of conflict and popular protest in Libya, international pressure on Muammar Gaddafi is mounting, and with increased NATO airstrikes and ICC arrest warrants now in the frame.

But how long can NATO keep up the bombardment, with a limited mandate to operate in, and Gaddaffi showing no sign of stepping down?

Inside Story, with presenter Kamahl Santamaria, discusses with Tarik Youssef, senior research fellow at the Dubai School of Government; David Metham, UK director for Human Rights Watch and Saad Djebbar, international lawyer, and deputy director for the Centre of North African studies at Cambridge University.

This episode of Inside Story aired from [sic] Tuesday, May 17, 2011.

Gaddafis Named as International Criminal Court Suspects
THE GUARDIAN: Chief prosecutor requests crimes against humanity arrest warrants for Libyan leader, son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi

Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and his brother-in-law and intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, have been named as suspects for crimes against humanity by the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court in The Hague.

Presenting his request for arrest warrants to the ICC, the chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said the men formed an inner circle who carried out the Libyan leader's orders to crush peaceful protests by ordering attacks with live ammunition and heavy weapons.

"His second eldest son Saif al-Islam is a de facto prime minister and Abdullah Senussi is his right-hand man, the executioner. [My] office documented how the three held meetings to plan and direct the operations," Moreno-Ocampo said. The prosecutor said he had "direct evidence" of the three men committing the crimes.

A panel of three ICC judges will now decide whether to grant the arrest warrants, after which Moreno-Ocampo said it was primarily up to Libyans themselves to enforce them.

However, the naming of Saif al-Islam as a prime suspect in crimes against humanity will alone be enough to cause shock and embarrassment to his prominent and wealthy circle of friends in Europe and the US, and particularly in the UK, where he studied at the London School of Economics and lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb, an exclusive district of London.

"His address book is going to be bulging with significant contacts. The question is going to be how long those contacts stayed in touch and at what point they cut him off," a source familiar with the investigation said. Those questions may be answered in part by a study of Saif al-Islam's mobile telephone records and other communications by the ICC investigators. » | Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Monday, May 16, 2011

ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrant for Gaddafi
REUTERS: The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Monday he had requested arrest warrants for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the country's spy chief on charges of crimes against humanity.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had said earlier this month he would seek three arrest warrants for the "pre-determined" killing of protesters in Libya following U.N. Security Council referral of the violence to the Hague-based court in February.

It had been widely expected that Moreno-Ocampo would seek an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Gaddafi, but in addition to a warrant for his son Saif, the prosecutor said he would also seek the arrest of Libya's head of espionage, Abdullah al-Senussi.

"The office gathered direct evidence about orders issued by Muammar Gaddafi himself, direct evidence of Saif al-Islam organizing the recruitment of mercenaries and direct evidence of the participation of al-Senussi in the attacks against demonstrators," Moreno-Ocampo said at the ICC. » | Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block; Editing by Giles Elgood | THE HAGUE | Monday, May 16, 2011

Al Jazeera Speaks to Arsalan Iftikhar
Italian foreign minister on Thursday said that the international criminal court will likely issue an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Al Jazeera spoke to Arsalan Iftikhar, an international human rights lawyer, on the issue

Jordanian Court Wants Geert Wilders Arrested
DUTCHNEWS.NL: The maker of the controversial film Fitna, anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, is afraid that he might be arrested while travelling abroad following a ruling by a court in Jordan earlier this week, reports Friday’s Volkskrant.

A group calling itself The Messenger of Allah Unites Us has called for an international arrest warrant against Wilders accusing him of racism, inciting hatred and insulting Islam and Muslims, reports the paper. The group was also behind a call for a boycott of Dutch products in Jordan earlier this year. Jordan Court Wants Wilders Arrested >>> | June 20, 2008

NIS News Bulletin:
Netherlands Concerned on Jordan Arrest Warrant for Wilders >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US)