Libya ICC lawyer Melinda Taylor and colleagues fly out

Four staff members from the International Criminal Court (ICC) have left Libya on the day they were released after four weeks’ detention on suspicion of spying.

Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor (R) and her interpreter from Lebanon, Helen Assaf (L), who were part of a legal team from the International Criminal Court, detained on June 7, after visiting Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of slain dictator Muammar Gaddafii

Four staff members from the International Criminal Court (ICC) have left Libya on the day they were released after four weeks’ detention on suspicion of spying.They arrived in the Netherlands late on Monday night, the ICC said.Their release came as ICC president Sang-Hyun Song was visiting Libya.The team had been accused of spying while visiting Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in the town of Zintan.Saif Al-Islam has been indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity but Libya has insisted he should be tried by a Libyan court.The ICC team flew out on an Italian military aircraft following a two-hour drive from the town of Zintan.They are still scheduled to appear before a court in Tripoli on July 23 for a final ruling on their case, a senior member of the Libyan attorney-general’s office said."We expect them to come back for the hearing but if they don’t, a ruling will be made in absentia,” the source said.During a news conference in the mountain town of Zintan, west of Tripoli, Mr Song offered an apology to the Libyan authorities for the "difficulties” caused by the mission