ICC Rejects Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s Request to Drop Charges against him

AP file photo of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi
AP file photo of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi
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ICC Rejects Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s Request to Drop Charges against him

AP file photo of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi
AP file photo of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has rejected a request made by Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi ­- son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi - for an international arrest warrant against him to be ruled inadmissible.

Bensouda, delivering her latest six-monthly statement to the Security Council on the situation in Libya, said that her office maintains that Gaddafi must be arrested and surrendered to the Court.

Gaddafi has argued that, because of ongoing domestic proceedings conducted against him in Libya, he cannot be tried at the ICC.

In the international warrant, issued by the ICC in June 2011, Gaddafi is accused of playing a key role in planning the suppression of civilian demonstrations by any means, including lethal force, against his father’s regime, said Bensouda.

She added that Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al‑Werfalli, a commander in the Al-Saiqua Brigade, and Al‑Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, the former head of the Libyan internal security agency, also remain at large.

Bensouda warned that "in the absence of accountability, impunity will continue to reign in Libya, causing great suffering and instability.”

Investigations indicate that Gaddafi and Al-Werfalli remain in Libya, while Al-Tuhami is outside the country.

The ICC Prosecutor also told the Council that her office “continues to monitor criminal conduct carried out by members of armed groups in Libya who use violence to exert control over State institutions, commit serious human rights violations and exploit detainees in unregulated prisons and places of detention throughout the country.”

She said her office “continued to receive evidence of alleged crimes committed against migrants transiting through Libya, including killings, sexual violence, torture and enslavement.”



Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
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Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Israel’s defense minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.

Thunberg, a climate campaigner is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, The AP news reported.

The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza’s territorial waters as early as Sunday.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end.

An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.