Libya
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the written ministerial statement of 19 May 2011, Official Report, column 27WS, on pre-Foreign Affairs Council and General Affairs Council (23 to 24 May 2011), if he will make representations to Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo that Abdullah al-Senussi should face a transparent trial at the International Criminal Court.

Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation, North America, Middle East and North Africa), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; North East Bedfordshire, Conservative)

On 5 September, Gaddafi’s former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi was extradited to Libya by the Mauritanian authorities. We understand that al-Senussi is formally in the custody of the Libyan authorities. The Libyan Prime Minister has stated publicly that al-Senussi will receive:

“a fair trial during which the international standards of dignity will be respected”.

In light of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) outstanding arrest warrant for al-Senussi the Libyan authorities and the ICC will need to engage on the matter of where al-Senussi should be tried. The ICC is an independent judicial institution and it would be inappropriate to seek to make representations to the new Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. The British Government will continue to encourage co-operation between the ICC and the Libyan authorities and to ensure that any future legal process is conducted according to international standards.