Gaddafi son in surrender talks as NATO ends Libya mission

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Gaddafi son in surrender talks as NATO ends Libya mission

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ICC said it was in contact with slain Libyan leader Kaddafi's son Seif al-Islam over his surrender.

29 October,2011 04:30 am

The International Criminal Court said Friday it was in contact with slain Libyan leader Moammwr Gaddafis son Seif al-Islam over his surrender, as NATO decided to end its mission in Libya.Luis Moreno-Ocampo warned however the International Criminal Court (ICC) learnt that a group of mercenaries have offered to move Seif to an African country which was a non-party to the ICCs founding document, the Rome Statute.Through intermediaries, we have informal contact with Seif, the prosecutor said in a statement, issued at the courts headquarters in The Hague.The Office of the Prosecutor has made it clear that if he surrenders to the ICC, he has the right to be heard in court, he is innocent until proven guilty, Moreno-Ocampo said. The judges will decide.He said after learning that a group of mercenaries offered to move Seif to an African state not bound to hand him over to the ICC, his office was exploring the possibility to intercept any plane within the airspace of a state party in order to make an arrest.Seif, 39, and Gaddafis security chief and brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi, 62, are the most wanted fugitives from the slain despots ousted circle.They are wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity, committed after the start of the uprising against Gaddafis regime in mid-February. The ICC issued arrest warrants against Gaddafi, Seif and Senussi on June 27.Meanwhile, NATO decided Friday to end its mission in Libya in three days, on October 31, declaring it fulfilled its historic mandate to protect civilians as it urged the new regime to build a democracy based on human rights.We have fully complied with the historic mandate of the United Nations to protect the people of Libya, to enforce the no-fly zone and the arms embargo, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement.