Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/547695
4 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 JULY 2015 News Gaddafi's son sentenced to death together with eight former officials JURGEN BALZAN THE most prominent son of Lib- ya's former autocrat, Muammar Gaddafi was yesterday sentenced to death by firing squad. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was sen- tenced in absentia in Tripoli along with eight other senior members of the former regime, which was overthrown during the popu- lar uprising in 2011. Abdullah Senussi, the former intelligence chief, was among the former re- gime officials sentenced, as well as former Prime Minister Baghdadi Ali Mahmudi. 23 other former officials were given sentences ranging from life imprisonment to five years in prison, four people were acquit- ted, and one was referred for med- ical treatment and not sentenced. They were accused of war crimes and suppressing peaceful protests during the revolution, a state pros- ecutor said. It is yet unclear whether the death sentences will be carried out, as Gaddafi is being held by a militia in the mountain town of Zintan that is opposed to the Is- lamist militia coalition in control of Tripoli. He has been held in a Zintan prison since he was caught trying to flee Libya in the after- math of the uprising. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has refused permis- sion for Libya to try Gaddafi, who has been indicted by The Hague, along with Senussi, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The executions are also likely to be held up as the convictions are expected to be appealed to the cassation chamber of Libya's Supreme Court. The trial, which opened in the Libyan capital in April last year, has been dogged by criticism from human rights watchdogs, including the Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), and an unresolved dis- pute with the International Crimi- nal Court in The Hague over juris- diction in the Gaddafi case. The process started before fight- ing between rival factions resulted in a power struggle with two gov- ernments competing for authority – one based in the capital, Tripoli, and the other one in Tobruk in the east. The trial was held against the backdrop of renewed conflicts, which led to the collapse of cen- tral authority and a split of state institutions in mid-2014. Since then, Libya has two parliaments and two governments vying for control over the vast Libyan terri- tory and its resources. Both sides are accused of having committed serious human rights abuses and violations of interna- tional humanitarian law, some of which amount to war crimes. This month, warring parties – including the internationally rec- ognised government which fled to the eastern cities of Al Bayda and Tobruk following the invasion of Tripoli by Islamist-led militias last year – signed a peace agreement sponsored by the UN. The self-de- clared Tripoli government has so far refused to sign the agreement although it is now under immense pressure to do so. Gaddafi has been held since 2011 by a former rebel group in Zintan that opposes the Tripoli govern- ment and it is thought that the internationally-recognised parlia- ment in Tobruk will not recognise the Court's ruling. Gaddafi and seven other defend- ants held in Misrata were tried via video link with proceedings mired by the poor quality of the satellite link. The Zintanis – who are at war with the Islamist mili- tias Libya Dawn – have refused to hand Gaddafi over, saying they do not trust the self-declared govern- ment seated in Tripoli. The 43-year-old Saif al-Islam is the best known of Gaddafi's sons and before the uprising he was considered as the spearhead of the regime's modernising faction. Originally trained as an engineer, he wrote his PhD thesis at the London School of Economics on the role of civil society in democ- ratisation. In reaction, the Middle East and North Africa Programme Direc- tor at Amnesty International, Philip Luther said: "Instead of helping to establish the truth and ensuring accountability for seri- ous violations during the 2011 armed conflict, this trial exposes the weakness of a criminal justice system which is hanging on by a thread in a war-torn country with no central authority." Amnesty International has long called for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to be surrendered to the ICC, which has an active arrest warrant in his name. "The Libyan authorities refused to hand Saif al-Islam al- Gaddafi to the ICC to prove they could administer justice nation- ally. So far they have failed as he has been subjected to a string of violations. He was effectively tried and sentenced in absentia and continues to be held in isolation in a secret location without access to a lawyer," Luther said. Amnesty International added that many defendants were inter- rogated without having a lawyer present, despite repeated requests and guarantees provided in Liby- an law, while allegations of torture and other ill-treatment raised by the defence do not appear to have been duly investigated. In a statement issued yesterday, UNSMIL said concerns over the trial include the fact that sev- eral defendants were absent for a number of sessions. While noting that the UN "op- poses the imposition of the death penalty as a matter of principle," a UNSMIL spokesperson said "giv- en these shortcomings, it is par- ticularly worrisome that the court has handed down nine death sen- tences. International standards require that death sentences may only be imposed after proceedings that meet the highest level of re- spect for fair trial standards." Turkish cargo ship escapes Maltese waters despite arrest warrant The Turkish general cargo ship Feyza Genc escaped Maltese waters after the courts issued a warrant for her arrest for unpaid bunker bills worth €45,818 A Turkish cargo ship escaped from Malta shortly after being served with an arrest warrant for unpaid bills. The Turkish general cargo ship Feyza Genc escaped Maltese waters after the courts issued a warrant for her arrest for un- paid bunker bills worth €45,818, owed to Cassar Fuel Limited. The ship was anchored off the coast in Bunkering Area 3, about three miles from international waters, after she was detained by the coast guard in Malta's exclu- sive economic zone. Transport Malta was charged with ensur- ing the vessel remained in Mal- tese waters until court proceed- ings were completed. After the court's decision, the vessel took off during the night, heading towards Turkish waters. She was last seen near the Greek island of Karpathos. 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