Italy wants Gaddafi and sons to stand trial in Hague

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his sons should go on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told Radio Anch'io on Tuesday. The ICC, a permanent tribunal set up to prosecute for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, has issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, his heir apparent Seif al-Islam and his son-in-law Abdullah Senussi. "I hope the National Transitional Council will hand them over to The Hague tribunal," the minister said, adding that the capture of Gaddafi and his family members was only a matter of time. He said that at the moment Gaddafi is supported only by "well-paid snipers and mercenaries." "We have data which confirms increasing presence of the opposition, the so-called rebels in various districts of Tripoli," Frattini said, adding that "the Libyan people have risen in revolt against the dictator." European assistance to the national reconciliation process in Libya will be discussed soon at a meeting between Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Prime Minister of Libya's interim National Transitional Council Mahmoud Jibril. As rebels entered the Libyan capital on Monday, the fate of the Libyan leader and his sons remains unclear. It was initially reported that Gaddafi's three sons - Seif al-Islam, Saadi and Mohammad were captured, but France Press later said Seif al-Islam met with foreign journalists in his father's villa in Tripoli on Monday night. On Tuesday, Seif al-Islam appeared on TV screens accompanied by his supporters near the Bab al Aziziyah compound assuring reporters that the situation in Tripoli was under control of government forces and offering them a trip around the city, which had been reportedly overrun by the rebels.