An ICC delegation in
Libya is accused of carrying suspicious documents to Saif al-Islam
Gaddafi, above, son of the country's former president. Photograph:
Reuters
Representatives of the international criminal court
are in Tripoli to try to secure the release of a detained delegation
visiting Muammar Gaddafi's captured son, a Libyan official has said.
The four-member delegation was being held in the western mountain town of Zintan after one of its lawyers, Australian Melinda Taylor, has been accused of carrying documents for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi regarded as suspicious, a Libyan lawyer and a militia member said on Saturday.
The president of the international war crimes court has demanded their immediate release.
"An (ICC) delegation arrived today in Tripoli. They are holding meetings with officials about this," said the Libyan official, without giving further details.
Reflecting the country's wider problem of powerful local militias and a weak central government, the Zintan brigade holding Islam said it would not heed the government's request to release the four ICC staff before questioning them.
"They are still under investigation," a member of the brigade said. "The visiting delegation won't see them just yet."
Australia's foreign minister, Bob Carr, said he had spoken to Libya's deputy foreign minister, Muhamed Aziz, about Taylor's detention. He said Aziz had confirmed in a telephone call that Taylor was "being held by Libyan authorities in Zintan and would be detained pending further inquiries".
"I raised Australia's concern for Ms Taylor's welfare and Mr Aziz assured me that she is safe and well," Carr said. "I emphasised our strong interest in seeing the matter resolved quickly and urged Mr Aziz to facilitate full consular access to Ms Taylor."
Carr said he had also spoken to Taylor's husband and to the president of the international criminal court.
Islam, held in Zintan since his desert capture in November, is wanted by the ICC for crimes during an uprising in 2011 that ended his father's 42-year rule. Libya's new rulers say he should be tried in his home country.
The ICC has previously expressed concern at the conditions under which Islam is being held. Human rights groups also question whether Libya's justice system can meet the standards of international law.
A Libyan lawyer said the suspicious documents included letters from Islam's former aide Mohammed Ismail, as well as blank documents signed by the prisoner.
The international court said the Taylor, 36, had worked for the ICC since 2006 as counsel in the office that represents indictees' interests before the appointment of a formal defence counsel.
The ICC named the three other staff members as Helene Assaf, a translator and interpreter since 2005; Esteban Peralta Losilla, the chief of the court's counsel support section; and Alexander Khodakov, a Russian career diplomat who is the external relations and co-operation senior adviser at the registry of the ICC.
The four-member delegation was being held in the western mountain town of Zintan after one of its lawyers, Australian Melinda Taylor, has been accused of carrying documents for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi regarded as suspicious, a Libyan lawyer and a militia member said on Saturday.
The president of the international war crimes court has demanded their immediate release.
"An (ICC) delegation arrived today in Tripoli. They are holding meetings with officials about this," said the Libyan official, without giving further details.
Reflecting the country's wider problem of powerful local militias and a weak central government, the Zintan brigade holding Islam said it would not heed the government's request to release the four ICC staff before questioning them.
"They are still under investigation," a member of the brigade said. "The visiting delegation won't see them just yet."
Australia's foreign minister, Bob Carr, said he had spoken to Libya's deputy foreign minister, Muhamed Aziz, about Taylor's detention. He said Aziz had confirmed in a telephone call that Taylor was "being held by Libyan authorities in Zintan and would be detained pending further inquiries".
"I raised Australia's concern for Ms Taylor's welfare and Mr Aziz assured me that she is safe and well," Carr said. "I emphasised our strong interest in seeing the matter resolved quickly and urged Mr Aziz to facilitate full consular access to Ms Taylor."
Carr said he had also spoken to Taylor's husband and to the president of the international criminal court.
Islam, held in Zintan since his desert capture in November, is wanted by the ICC for crimes during an uprising in 2011 that ended his father's 42-year rule. Libya's new rulers say he should be tried in his home country.
The ICC has previously expressed concern at the conditions under which Islam is being held. Human rights groups also question whether Libya's justice system can meet the standards of international law.
A Libyan lawyer said the suspicious documents included letters from Islam's former aide Mohammed Ismail, as well as blank documents signed by the prisoner.
The international court said the Taylor, 36, had worked for the ICC since 2006 as counsel in the office that represents indictees' interests before the appointment of a formal defence counsel.
The ICC named the three other staff members as Helene Assaf, a translator and interpreter since 2005; Esteban Peralta Losilla, the chief of the court's counsel support section; and Alexander Khodakov, a Russian career diplomat who is the external relations and co-operation senior adviser at the registry of the ICC.
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