Libya to appeal ICC decision to prosecute Said al-Islam Gaddafi

Libya said it will appeal to the International Criminal Court to reverse its decision to prosecute Saif al-Islam, a son of the countrys late leader Muammar Gaddafi. "We will obviously appeal" as required within five days of the announcement of the decision taken on Friday, Libyan Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. "A team of Libyan and international experts are discussing the preparation of the appeal," he added. On Friday, the ICC rejected a bid by Tripoli to halt its prosecution of Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity committed while trying to put down Libya's 2011 armed uprising. "The chamber concluded that it has not been sufficiently demonstrated that (Libya's) domestic investigation (covers) the same case that is before the court," the Hague-based court said in a summary of the decision. Saif al-Islam, 40, is being held by a brigade of former rebel fighters in Zintan, 180 kilometers (110 miles) southwest of Tripoli, since his capture in November 2011, five months after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest. The court, which was mandated by the UN Security Council to investigate the Libyan conflict, has clashed with Tripoli over where he should be tried.