NTC wants Seif al-Islam to go on trial in Libya

The National Transitional Council wants Seif al-Islam, the captured son of Moamer Kadhafi, to go on trial in Libya rather than at the International Criminal Court, the interim justice minister said on Sunday.The decision comes as world powers are urging Libya to work with the ICC, which wants to try the 39-year-old for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in crushing anti-regime protests.“We want the trial of Seif al-Islam to take place in Libya because local justice is the rule and international justice is the exception,” justice minister Mohammed al-Allagui said. “We have the necessary guarantees for a fair trial, especially after the amendment of a law that guarantees the independence of the judiciary as regards the executive,” he said.On Saturday, the ICC said Libya must hand him over but held out the prospect of a trial in Tripoli.ICC spokesman Fadi Al-Abdallah told AFP that the Libyan authorities were obliged to cooperate with the ICC and surrender him to the court as required by the UN resolution on Libya.“If they want a trial in Libya, they must submit a request for dismissal and procedures in Libya must be conducted on the same charges as those contained in the warrant of the ICC,” Abdallah added.After three months on the run, Seif al-Islam was caught in Libyas far-flung Saharan south early on Saturday in a trap set by a Zintan brigade of militiamen loyal to the new regime.The NTC, struggling to establish its judiciary, is under mounting pressure to ensure a fair trial for him after images emerged of his father dying following his capture on October 20.Britain, France and the United States all called on Libya’s new rulers to cooperate fully with the ICC. And Russia’s special representative for Africa, Mikhail Margelov, clearly articulated the concerns of the international community.