International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan briefs UN Security Council on situation in Libya – UN Photo/Mark Garten
“I can announce today that the independent judges of the International Criminal Court have issued the four arrest warrants.”. International Prosecutor Karim Khan’s words mark progress in the investigation into human rights crimes in Libya. The arrest warrants are classified to protect investigative processes that could lead to the arrest of the wanted persons. Ai qIn addition to four confirmed arrest warrants, two more have been applied for in the last few hours and subjected to scrutiny by the judges.
The suspects come from both forces linked to the Tripoli government and militias linked to General Haftar, who controls Cyrenaica to the southern border with Sudan. In recent months, “Avvenire” had published the arrest application signed by the international public prosecutor’s office pending examination by the judges. But yesterday the green light came. As it turns out, the recipients are names well known to the European and Italian governments, in part because they have worked with some criminal groups involved in human, oil and drug trafficking.
Without revealing the suspects’ names, the international prosecutor’s report accurately describes the crimes for which they are being prosecuted and confirms that the crimes are still ongoing. These include the crimes committed since 2011, from the moment the internal conflict erupted at the time Colonel Gaddafi was toppled, to the human rights abuses “against Libyans and non-Libyans, which continue to be committed in detention centers”. the village.
“Crimes against migrants remain widespread and numerous in Libya», it is read. Back in September 2022, prosecutors had joined a “joint team” investigating “the prime suspects responsible for crimes against migrants, including human trafficking, human smuggling, enslavement, torture and extortion.” Originally the International Criminal Court had only been indicted by the Security Council for “war crimes”, but in recent months prosecutor Khan has been able to show that “crimes against migrants in Libya can constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes”. In other words, The exploitation of people and the mistreatment of people are directly related to war crimes, as the human trafficking chain is managed by militias, which are now incorporated into official institutions ranging from the so-called Coast Guard to the Ministry for Combating Illegal Immigration. “It is a collective obligation to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are held accountable,” prosecutor Khan said.
International Prosecutor Karim Khan attended the Security Council meeting – UN Photo/Mark Garten
One of the first results of the “joint team” that includes the ICC was the arrest of Tewelde Goitom, also known as Amanuel Gebreyesus Negahs Walid, who was extradited from Ethiopia to the Netherlands, where he faces a Dutch-led criminal case. During the preliminary hearing, local prosecutors “showed how several Dutch[sub-Saharan Africa]families received calls from their relatives in the camps and detention centers run by some of the suspects, while their relatives begged them for money to send.” and in the background the screams of the torture victims could be heard.
Prosecutors from the Netherlands, Italy and the UK also helped develop international investigations, “demonstrating their determination to ensure accountability for serious crimes,” says Khan.
Investigators, coordinated by the international prosecutor’s office, “met witnesses who, the investigative dossier says, confirmed widespread and systematic violence against migrants, including torture, rape and enslavement.”. In his speech to the Security Council, the head of the international public prosecutor’s office spoke of a “disgusting spiral of violence” and recalled this “Human rights abuses against migrants and asylum seekers continue with impunity.”