LIBYA: People in Benghazi burn effigy of Gaddafi emboldened by war crimes prosecutor seeking arrest warrant

Record ID: 423143

  • Title: LIBYA: People in Benghazi burn effigy of Gaddafi emboldened by war crimes prosecutor seeking arrest warrant
  • Date: 17th May 2011
  • Summary: BENGHAZI, LIBYA (MAY 16, 2011) (REUTERS) WOMEN CELEBRATING CHILD WITH FACE PAINTED THE COLOURS OF FREE LIBYA CHANTING WOMEN AND CHILDREN WITH FREE LIBYA FLAGS MEN CHANTING MEN PLAYING MUSIC EFFIGY OF LIBYAN LEADER MUAMMAR GADDAFI OLD MAN PRODDING EFFIGY WITH A CANE MEN CHANTING MEN ON DRUMS (NIGHT SHOTS) EFFIGY OF GADDAFI BURNING (NIGHT VIEW)
  • Embargoed: 1st June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8XB1565BRO1CBQ6ME8L6KLBGV
  • Story Text: Libyans who secured a transitional government in the east after rising up against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi flood the streets of Benghazi to celebrate the ICC's demand for arrest warrants for Gaddafi and two others because of the way they dealt with protesters during the uprising.
    Women, children joined the men in the eastern rebel-held Libyan city of Benghazi in celebrating the war crimes' prosecutor's decision on Monday (May 16) to seek an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for killing civilian protesters.

    The International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accuses Gaddafi of killing protesters against his four-decade rule and asked judges for the arrest of Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam and his spy chief brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi.

    But is may still be too early to celebrate: judges now have to decide if there is enough evidence to issue the warrants.

    The prosecutor says he has strong evidence that during the uprising civilians were attacked at home, protests were supressed using live ammunition, heavy artillery was used against funeral processions and snipers deployed to kill people leaving mosques after prayers.

    The prosecutor's office had received calls from senior officials in the Gaddafi government in the past week to provide information. Prosecutors spoke with eyewitnesses to attacks and assessed evidence from 1,200 documents, plus videos and photos.

    Thousands have been killed in the conflict in the North African state, the bloodiest of the revolts which have convulsed the region in what has been called the "Arab Spring".
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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