A delegation from the International Criminal Court is still being held by a militia in the Western Libyan town of Zintan today, with the delegation accused of “trying to pass forbidden materials” to Saif al-Islam al-Gadhafi, the detained son of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
In this case, the “forbidden materials” were a letter from another former regime official. The ICC has expressed concern about the safety of the staff and called on the Libyan government to secure their release.
That doesn’t seem likely to happen, as Libyan ruler Mustafa Abdel-Jalil sought their transfer to Tripoli, even promising to keep them in custody pending investigations into the letter, but the Zintan militia rejected the call, saying that they would no sooner release the captive ICC officials than they would Gadhafi himself.
Zintan’s militia has been one of the surlier factions in Libya since the NATO-imposed regime change, and has been active in attacks around Tripoli. The group has set up checkpoints around the capital and attacked people it suspects of being “loyalists” from the old regime.
They’re holding the delegation for the wrong reasons. They should hold them, with the threat of prosecution, until those responsible for the murder of the civilians during the so-called humanitarian intervention are brought to justice.