Court 'in talks with Gaddafi son'

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he is in indirect contact with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi about the possibility of surrendering for trial.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo says talks are being held through intermediaries whom he did not identify.

He also said he did not know exactly where the son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is.

The prosecutor believes unidentified mercenaries also are offering to find refuge for Gaddafi in an African country that does not co-operate with the court.

He mentioned Zimbabwe as one possibility.

Saif al-Islam was indicted in June for inciting crowds to murder during the early stages of the Libyan revolution.

According to reports on Thursday, Muammar Gaddafi’s intelligence chief had reached the Kidal region of Mali after crossing through the Niger desert, and Saif al-Islam was also on his way.

The intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senoussi, is also wanted by the ICC.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo said the court was in contact with other countries to prevent Said al-Islam’s escape by denying overflight permission to any plane carrying him.

“We are having informal conversations with Saif Gaddafi in order to see if he can be surrendered to the court,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo said in The Hague.

“We know he has a different option because apparently there is a group of mercenaries willing to move him to a country, probably Zimbabwe,” the prosecutor said. Some of the mercenaries may be from South Africa.

The 39-year-old was pressing for clarifications about his fate should he be acquitted, and Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he has made it clear to the fugitive that he could ask the judges to send him to a country other than Libya.

“He says he is innocent and he will prove his innocence,” the prosecutor said.