Trial for heir to former dictator presents major test for new government’s commitment to human rights


ZINTAN, Libya (AP) ― Moammar Gadhafi’s former heir apparent Seif al-Islam was captured by revolutionary fighters in the southern desert Saturday just over a month after his father was killed, setting off joyous celebrations across Libya and closing the door on the possibility that the fugitive son could stoke further insurrection.

Seif al-Islam ― who has undergone a transformation from a voice of reform in an eccentric and reviled regime to one of Interpol’s most-wanted ― now faces the prospect of trial before an international or Libyan court to answer for the alleged crimes of his late father’s four-decade rule over the oil-rich North African nation.

Thunderous celebratory gunfire shook the Libyan capital of Tripoli and other cities after Libyan officials said Seif al-Islam, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, had been detained wearing traditional Tuareg clothing about 50 kilometers west of the town of Obari in an area that borders Niger, Mali and Algeria.

A photograph was widely circulated showing the 39-year-old son, who had been the last wanted Gadhafi family member to remain at large, in custody, sitting by a bed and holding up three bandaged fingers as a guard looks on. Osama Juwaid, a spokesman for the fighters from Zintan who made the arrest, said it was an old injury caused by a NATO airstrike and the detainee was otherwise in good health.

“I am hopeful that the capture of Gadhafi’s son is the beginning of a chapter of transparency and democracy and freedom,” Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdurrahim el-Keib at a news conference in the western mountain town of Zintan, where Seif al-Islam was taken after his capture.

It was unclear what would happen next, with the international community urging Libyan authorities to ensure he is treated humanely and to cooperate with the ICC on bringing him to trial.

The emergence of Seif al-Islam as the only Gadhafi in custody to face justice posed a major test of the interim government’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law. The murky circumstances surrounding the deaths of the reviled Libya leader and another son Muatassim on Oct. 20, and the decision to lay their bodies out for public viewing drew widespread criticism.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo told the Associated Press that he will travel to Libya next week for talks with the country’s transitional government on where the trial will take place. Ocampo said that while national governments have the first right to try their own citizens for war crimes, his primary goal was to make sure Seif al-Islam receives a fair trial.

“The good news is that Seif al-Islam is arrested, he is alive, and now he will face justice,” Ocampo said in an interview in The Hague. “Where and how, we will discuss it.”

Seif al-Islam’s capture leaves only former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi wanted by the ICC, which indicted the two men along with Gadhafi in June for unleashing a campaign of murder and torture to suppress the uprising that broke out in mid-February. Protests inspired by the so-called Arab Spring sweeping the region soon escalated into a civil war, with NATO launching airstrikes under a U.N.-mandate to protect civilians.

Other photos and video clips showed Seif al-Islam wearing glasses and a beard, clothed in brown robes and a turban in the style of ethnic Tuaregs, a nomadic community that spans the desert border area of Niger, Mali, Libya, Algeria and Chad and long fought for his father’s regime. In some, he was bundled onto an airplane that apparently carried him to Zintan, 150 kilometers southwest of Tripoli.

Libya’s transitional government has struggled to consolidate control over the country and form a new government and build many institutions from scratch after months of violence and the refusal of several armed factions to lay down their weapons or join the national forces. International rights groups also have documented widespread prisoner abuse mainly aimed at former Gadhafi supporters, casting doubt on reconciliation efforts as the country tries to forge a democracy.

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who played an active role in his country’s early stance on the side of the rebels who rose up against Gadhafi, alleged that Seif al-Islam was at least as much to blame for past atrocities against Libyans as his father.

“His arrest is a real important moment. It’s the real end of this war,” Levy said during an interview in London, adding his voice to calls for Seif al-Islam to be judged by an international court.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department said Seif al-Islam should be held accountable for his actions but urged the Libyans to treat all prisoners in full accordance with international standards.

“His capture and trial would be another step away from a 40-year dark chapter in Libyan history and help move the Libyan people toward the peaceful and democratic future they deserve,” the State Department said.

It was a dramatic turnabout for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is the oldest of seven children of Moammar and Safiya Gadhafi. He had one older half brother, Mohammed.

The British-educated son, who speaks fluent English, spent years touting himself as a liberalizing reformer in the autocratic regime, and he helped broker the agreement that saw Moammar Gadhafi renounce his weapons of mass destruction program and begin his journey back into the international fold after decades of isolation.

But Seif al-Islam staunchly backed his father in his brutal crackdown on rebels in the regime’s final days, warning of “rivers of blood” if demonstrators refused to accept government offers of reform.

He went underground after Tripoli fell to revolutionary forces in late August and was widely reported to have been hiding in the besieged town of Bani Walid, issuing audio recordings to try to rally support for his father, but he escaped before it fell to revolutionary forces.

“This is the day of victory, this is the day of liberation, finally the son of the tyrant has been captured,” said Mohammed Ali, an engineer, as he celebrated on Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square, formerly called Green Square when it was the site often used by Gadhafi for fiery speeches. “Now we are free, now we are free, God is Great.”