Released ICC envoys return back to home

THE HAGUE

ICC lawyer Taylor (R) and her interpreter from Lebanon are seen in this photo. AFP photo

Four envoys of the International Criminal Court who were detained in Libya last month after visiting the son of slain leader Moammar Gadhafi arrived yesterday in the Netherlands, an ICC spokesman said.

But their ordeal may not be over just yet, as the four have been summoned to a Libyan court later this month to complete the judicial process set in motion by the Libyan prosecutor general’s investigations against them.

ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah told Agence France-Presse the four had “just arrived in the Netherlands,” where they work at the Hague-based ICC. “They will then go home to The Hague to get some rest,” Abdallah added.

Coded letter to Seif

The four, including Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor, had been held in Zintan southwest of Tripoli since June 7 after travelling there to help prepare Seif al-Islam’s defense.

Taylor was accused of carrying a pen camera and attempting to give Seif al-Islam, 40, 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. Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Aziz said the ICC envoys were allowed to leave the North African country as part of an agreement his government had reached with The Hague-based court.

The four ICC defense office members also still faced a Libyan court on July 23 to complete a judicial process set in motion by the Libyan prosecutor general’s investigation, Abdel Aziz said.