ICC prosecutor says grounds to charge Libyan forces

BBC News, by Barbara Plett, BBC UN correspondent, 4 May 2011

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The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has said there are reasonable grounds to charge forces loyal to Libya's Col Muammar Gaddafi with crimes against humanity.

Mr Ocampo says there is reason to believe 500-700
Libyan protesters were killed in February alone

In a report, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said charges could include murder, unlawful detention, torture and persecution.

Mr Ocampo said shooting at peaceful protesters by security forces had been systematic.

Col Gaddafi has been fighting an anti-government uprising for two months.

The prosecutor, who was authorised by the UN Security Council to investigate alleged abuses in Libya, noted there were credible estimates of between 500 and 700 people killed in February alone.

'Few people at the top'

He said he plans to submit his first application for arrest warrants in the next few weeks.

The warrants will apparently focus on the initial clampdown against protesters, but it does not reveal who he plans to indict.

The report noted that these alleged crimes are said to be committed on the instructions of only a few people at the top, raising the prospect that Col Gaddafi and members of his inner circle may be charged.

Mr Ocampo said there is also relevant information that war crimes were committed once the situation developed into armed conflict, such as intentional attacks against non-combatants and the apparent use of cluster bombs.

The prosecutor's office is also continuing investigations into serious allegations of rape, and reports that angry mobs in the rebel-held Libyan city of Benghazi killed dozens of Africans thought to be mercenaries.