Libya will not send Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the country’s justice minister has said.Saif al-Islam, the most prominent son of the country’s former leader, will instead be put on trial in his own country by Libyan judges, on charges of financial corruption, murder and rape, Ali Ashour told Reuters news agency on Sunday.The second son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam is in a secret prison in the custody of the Zintan fighters who captured him last year during the country’s bloody struggle to overthrow his father’s regime.Earlier this week an ICC defence lawyer alleged that the Saif al-Islam was being mistreated and beaten, but Ashour denied the allegations, “He eats with the people who guard him, and he is in good condition,” Ashour said.Pressure is mounting on Libya to hand Gaddafi’s son to the ICC, as human rights organisations say the country is unable to give him a fair trial.The ICC ordered Libya on Wednesday to “comply with its obligations to enforce the warrant of arrest” and surrender Saif al-Islam to the court’s custody without delay.
