Germany said on Wednesday it was probing alleged abuses committed by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with a view to passing evidence on to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The investigation … currently just has the aim of amassing possible proof, here in Germany, for the International Criminal Court in the Hague,” said the federal prosecutors’ office’s Stefan Schmidt.
Germany, non-permanent member of the Security Council, has thus far remained neutral in the Libyan conflict, abstaining in March from a UN vote authorising military action to protect civilians in Libya and declining to join the Nato-led air campaign there.
Schmidt said it was “unlikely” that Germany itself would issue an arrest warrant against the Libyan leader. Prosecutors were already investigating “several” alleged incidents, he said.
Under UN Resolution 1970, passed on February 26 by the United Nations Security Council, ICC prosecutors opened an investigation on March 3 into possible crimes against humanity committed by Gaddafi’s forces. — Sapa-AFP