By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: The International Criminal Court at The Hague Monday sought the arrest of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al Senussi for attacks on civilians.
“The office gathered direct evidence about orders issued by Muammar Gaddafi himself, direct evidence of Saif al-Islam organising the recruitment of mercenaries and direct evidence of the participation of al-Senussi in the attacks against demonstrators,” chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said at the court.
“The evidence shows that civilians were attacked in their homes, demonstrations were repressed using live ammunition, heavy artillery was used against participants in funeral processions, and snipers placed to kill those leaving the mosques after the prayers,” he said.
Moreno-Ocampo said the court had evidence that Gaddafi and his supporters continue to persecute dissidents in the country, which has been embroiled in civil war since mid-February.
“Gaddafi’s forces prepare lists with names of alleged dissidents. They are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear.”
Gaddafi issued an audio address on Libyan state television Friday evening, dismissing rumours that he was injured in a NATO airstrike. He said he was in a place “out of NATO’s reach”.
A recent airstrike in Tripoli killed Gaddafi’s youngest son and three of his grandchildren.