ICC team flies out of Libya after being freed

Four envoys of the International Criminal Court flew out of Libya on Monday after being detained for nearly a month over a meeting with a son of Moammer Gaddafi, officials said. The ICC team, including Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor, had been held in Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, since June 7 after travelling to the hilltop town to help prepare the legal defence of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi. "The four members were released," Ajmi al-Atiri, commander of a brigade that is holding the slain Libyan dictator's most prominent son in custody, told journalists in Zintan. Taylor was accused of carrying a pen camera and attempting to give Seif al-Islam a coded letter from his former right-hand man, Mohammed Ismail, who is wanted by the Libyan authorities. The other three detained ICC staffers were Taylor's interpreter from Lebanon, Helen Assaf, and two colleagues, Russian Alexander Khodakov and Esteban Peralta Losilla from Spain. The ambassadors of all countries concerned were present during their release. Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Aziz said the ICC envoys were allowed to leave the North African country as part of an agreement that his government reached with The Hague-based court. Later, an Italian military jet on which ICC president Sang-Hyung Song had arrived earlier in the day flew the ICC delegates out of Tripoli's Metiga military airport at 1830 GMT, officials told AFP. Song, speaking at the same news conference as Atiri, thanked the Libyan authorities for mediating the release of the legal team. "The ICC is grateful to the Libyan authorities for making the necessary arrangements to allow the release of the ICC members," Song said. "I wish to apologise for the difficulties which arose due to these events. There will be an investigation following the return of (the ICC) members to The Hague. Any member found with any misconduct will face appropriate sanction." Following the announcement, a late lunch had been served for South Korea's Song and the newly released ICC envoys who appeared to be in good health, an AFP journalist at the scene said. Taylor and Assaf were dressed in black abayas, a loose cloak worn by some women in parts of the Muslim world, and matching Islamic headscarves, the reporter added. But the ordeal of the ICC legal team might not be over just yet. Abdel Aziz said the four had been summoned to a Libyan court on July 23 to complete the judicial process which was set in motion by the prosecutor general's investigations. Any verdict would be transfered by the ICC for follow-up, he said, adding: "The ICC has agreed to keep Libyan authorities informed on the results of its investigations." It was unclear whether they would have to return to Libya for the case or be tried in absentia. Libyan officials have said that the actions of the ICC team represented a "breach of national security," a matter Tripoli did not take lightly, despite its declared commitment to cooperate with the court. Ajmi said on Monday that he had anticipated there would be attempts to free Seif al-Islam by supporters of the former regime but not by members of a renowned international institution. "What is regrettable is that these acts were carried out by an international institution which we respect and that played an important role during the Libyan revolution," he said. The ICC wants to try Seif al-Islam, 40, for crimes against humanity allegedly committed last year when his father's regime attempted in vain to crush a popular uprising. Tripoli insists he should be tried before a Libyan court and filed a motion on May 1 challenging the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. But it has failed to secure the prisoner's transfer to Tripoli from Zintan, where has been held since his capture November 19. Leading rights group on Monday welcomed the release of the ICC delegates as a positive development but stressed the detention of the legal team was unacceptable and a distraction from Seif al-Islam's proceedings. Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch said Libya had "no right" to detain ICC staff for nearly a month, noting Taylor's meeting with Seif al-Islam was covered by lawyer-client rules of confidentiality. "Libya was under legal obligation to respect the immunity of the court staff. If the Libyan authorities had any concerns about their conduct, they should have submitted a complaint to the court," he said. Marek Marczynski of Amnesty International said the detention of the ICC staffers marked a "totally unacceptable" denial of liberty which prevented them from performing their functions. "It has also undermined Seif al-Islam Gaddafi's right to an effective defence and delayed the ICC's decision on the Libyan authorities’ recent application to bring him to trial in Libyan courts," he said.