An article I co-authored for the Australian -- Libya wants ICC hamstrung via Aussie's captureTHE detention of International Criminal Court officials in Libya - including Australian Melinda Taylor - highlights the key fault lines in post-Gaddafi Libya among the central government, the militias and various international actors.Taylor, a lawyer assigned to represent deposed dauphin Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, was incarcerated earlier this month for allegedly passing her client coded messages from Mohammad Ismael, a former Gaddafi-regime official wanted for war crimes.Cognizant of its challenges, yet reluctant to relinquish its most prized prisoner, the NTC understood that another acrimonious meeting with ICC defense counsel would be detrimental to its case to try the younger Qadhafi. As Jihani told one of the authors in December, ‘if we don’t start to investigate and prosecute Saif, the demand to turn him over to the ICC will come.’In arresting Taylor and her colleagues, the NTC has sought to hamstring the ICC’s investigation while sending the court a message that Libya will not tolerate an infringement of its sovereignty.
Libya Wants ICC Hamstrung Via Aussie's Capture