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A Libyan man charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes Tripoli has been sent to jail by Germany Go to the International Criminal Court to face justice.
ICC Prosecutors allege that Khalid Mohammed Ali Al Hishri was a senior commander at Mitiga prison, where they say he ordered or supervised atrocities, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence, between 2015 and 2020.
He was arrested by German authorities on July 16 on a sealed warrant issued by a Hague-based court and was in custody in Germany before surrendering on Monday, the court said after arriving at its detention centre.
In July the ICC Prosecutor’s Office called El Hishri’s arrest “an important development” in efforts to seek accountability for crimes in detention facilities in Libya. It said it was ready for his trial, which would be the first trial of a Libyan suspect in court.
He will appear in the ICC courtroom soon so that the judge can confirm his identity and ensure he is informed of the charges against him and his rights. The court will then schedule a hearing in which prosecutors will present a summary of their evidence and a panel of judges will decide whether it is strong enough to prosecute El Hishri. That process will likely take months.
The UN Security Council called on the ICC in 2011 to launch an investigation against the backdrop of an uprising in Libya that ultimately overthrew longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi and spiraled into a deadly civil war. The court issued a warrant for the Libyan strongman, but rebels killed him before he could be taken into custody.
The court has issued arrest warrants for nine other Libyan suspects, including one of Gaddafi’s sons. Earlier this year, authorities in Libya accepted the court’s jurisdiction over the country from 2011 to the end of 2027.
Italy In January one of the suspects, Osama Anjem, also known as Osama al-Masri, was arrested but then released on a technicality, sparking outrage among human rights defenders. He was also accused of crimes in Mitiga prison.