@epaulnetPaul Erickson
Reuters: #ICC #prosecutor says may bring #Libya #rape chargesin.reuters.com/article/2011/1… #Ocampo #Qaddafi #women #womensrights #justice
THE HAGUE |
(Reuters) - The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Wednesday he was considering more charges against Muammar Gaddafi's spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, and others suspected of involvement in hundreds of rapes in Libya during this year's conflict.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) has already indicted Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity and other war crimes.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was close to completing an investigation on the use of rape by Gaddafi's forces to persecute their enemies as they battled an eight-month insurgency.
"I am finishing the rapes investigation, we will see if there are new charges for the same people, or for new people," he told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in The Hague.
Earlier this month, Moreno-Ocampo told the U.N. Security Council that he was investigating whether the former Libyan leader and his spy chief ordered mass rapes.
Gaddafi, also indicted by the ICC, died on Oct. 20 shortly after his capture by the former rebels, now the government forces.
"We have indications that Senussi was involved in organising the rapes, but not Saif," Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters, referring to Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, who has also been charged with crimes against humanity and is on the run.
"I am confident we will get Saif," to face charges in The Hague, Moreno-Ocampo said. "At the end of the day, all of them will face justice."
Libya's interim leadership, the National Transitional Council (NTC), has said it would like to try Saif al-Islam and Senussi in Libya. Moreno-Ocampo said he planned to meet the NTC in January.
(Reporting By Sara Webb; Editing by Rosalind Russell)
