Saif al-Islam, the second son of Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi, will go on trial in September in the Libyan town of Zintan despite repeated calls from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to try him at The Hague, Al Arabiya reported.
“A committee from the prosecutor general’s office has completed its investigation into the crimes committed by Saif al-Islam from the start of the revolution on February 15 (2011) and has prepared the charge sheet,” Al Arabiya quoted on Thursday prosecution spokesman Taha Nasser Baara as saying.
Saif, 40, was captured last year by a militia group from the western mountain town of Zintan, where he has been held ever since.
The ICC, which is authorized to try cases involving individuals charged with war crimes worldwide, has expressed concern that Libya is not set up to give Gaddafi’s son a fair trial as its interim rulers are having trouble uniting the country, caught in a power struggle between numerous militia groups and tribes.
The Libyan authorities insist, however, that they have “solid proof in the form of sound recordings, images, documents and testimony,” which is “sufficient to condemn and judge him” in Libya.
Saif and his lawyers have asked for a trial in The Hague as they are afraid that he could face death sentence if tried in Libya.
He was considered the most likely successor to Col. Gaddafi and actively supported his father’s attempts to quash the rebellion last year.
Gaddafi’s regime was overthrown in October 2011 by opposition forces with NATO’s assistance after a seven-month civil war. Gaddafi, who ruled the country for almost 42 years, was captured and killed by rebels near his home town of Sirte on October 20.
