Libya

"A protester holds a sign while attending a rally near the courthouse in Benghazi, Libya, on Saturday, May 14. The protesters were calling on the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Libya's leader Muammar Qaddafi." (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

Wanted by ICC Prosecutor for "Crimes against Humanity": Qaddafi
By Scott Peterson
The Christian Science Monitor, May 16, 2011
"The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today called upon judges to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi for 'widespread and systematic attacks' that have left thousands of Libyans dead. 'The evidence shows that Muammar Qaddafi personally ordered attacks on unarmed Libyan civilians,' said Luis Moreno-Ocampo in The Hague, whose office today presented a 74-page dossier detailing the regime's conduct in the uprising that began three months ago. 'His orders are binding ... it's a crime to challenge Qaddafi's authority, and he uses his authority to commit the crimes.' The prosecutor's office had 'documented how the three held meetings to plan and direct operations' that included shooting unarmed demonstrators and hunting, imprisoning, and torturing suspected dissidents, he said. Based on those and other findings, judges will decide in coming weeks whether to issue international arrest warrants for those three Libyans who bear 'most responsibility' for civilian deaths. The prosecutor said he is continuing investigations into charges of rape and other war crimes, adding that there would be 'no impunity' for the Qaddafi regime in Libya.
An arrest warrant would complicate chances of Qaddafi finding exile outside of Libya. But it also represents a tightening of the legal net at home as regime opponents call for stronger United Nations Security Council sanctions and more effective NATO airstrikes that have been closing in on the Libyan leader. If the judges decide to issue an arrest warrant for Qaddafi, it would be only the second time that the ICC has targeted a sitting head of state. While the court is relatively young -- it came into force in 2002 -- a Qaddafi arrest warrant would be a significant step toward implementing justice for war crimes. [...]"