ICC trial for Seif al-Islam could be in Libya

THE HAGUE (AFP) - The trial of deposed Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam could be held in Libya under the auspices of the International Criminal Court, its chief prosecutor said Friday.

"The prosecutor proposed as a third possibility that the ICC might, subject to judges' approval, conduct the trial against Seif al-Islam in Libya," Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a document before the Hague-based court.

He also proposed two other options, namely Libya asking the ICC to decide whether a Libyan court could prosecute Seif, or Libyan courts trying Seif for other crimes, for which he is wanted in Libya, with the ICC prosecuting him on a separate charge of crimes against humanity.

The ICC's mandate says it can only prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if a state's national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute them.

Moreno-Ocampo's report to ICC judges follows a visit to Tripoli this week to meet Libyan authorities for talks on jurisdiction in the case.

Moamer Kadhafi's one-time heir apparent, Seif, 39, was nabbed almost a week ago in Libya's southern Saharan region after three months on the run.

He and Kadhafi's former spymaster, Abdullah al-Senussi, 62, are wanted on ICC arrest warrants issued on June 27 for crimes against humanity when trying to put down the north African country's bloody revolt, sparked in February.