Gaddafi Dead: Son in Contact With International Criminal Court
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has had indirect talks with the International Criminal Court after trying to flee Libya earlier this week.
The court charged Gaddafi with crimes against humanity in February for bombing and shooting protesters.
Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said, “There are informal conversations. I think they are exploring the possibility to appear before the court.”
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“[We have said] we can help you to surrender to the court and if he considers himself innocent, he has the right to present his evidence to the court,” he added.
Ocampo said the ICC possessed evidence showing Saif Gaddafi was "critically important in organizing the killing of civilians."
He is the second son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was captured and killed last week. He was supposed to be the successor to his father and has spent the past couple of months in hiding.
On Wednesday, a military official of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) told Reuters that Saif Gaddafi and Libya's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi wanted to surrender to the ICC because they didn't feel safe in Libya.
The court made it clear that they are innocent until proven guilty.
Saif Gaddafi wanted an aircraft sent to a neighboring country to take him out of the Libyan desert and into the custody of the ICC, according to a NTC source.
Rumors swirled earlier in the week that Saif Gaddafi was looking to take refuge in Niger. Ocampo now says an African nation is offering to take him in.
"We have learnt through informal channels that there is a group of mercenaries who are offering to move Saif to an African country not party to the Rome Statute of the ICC," he stated.
Ocampo said the court would try to prevent this from happening.
He added, "The Office of the Prosecutor is also exploring the possibility to intercept any plane within the air space of a state party in order to make an arrest."
Ocampo also said the that the court would not make a deal for Saif Gaddafi.
