Germany sends Libyan man accused of war crimes to the ICC in The Hague to face trial

A Libyan man accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a Tripoli prison has been transferred from Germany to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face justice.

Prosecutors at the ICC allege that Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri was a senior commander at the Mitiga prison in Tripoli, where they say he ordered or oversaw crimes including murder, torture and rape between 2015 and 2020.

El Hishri was arrested by German authorities on 16 July on a sealed warrant issued by the court in The Hague. He was in custody in Germany before being sent to the ICC's detention centre on Monday, the court said.

The ICC's prosecution office said in July that El Hishri's arrest was "an important development" in efforts to seek accountability for crimes in detention facilities in Libya. It said it was ready for his trial, which would be the first of a Libyan suspect at the ICC.

El Hishri will appear soon in an ICC courtroom so that judges can confirm his identity and ensure he has been informed of the allegations against him, as well as his rights.

The court will then schedule a hearing where prosecutors will summarise their evidence and a panel of judges decides if it is strong enough to merit putting El Hishri on trial. That process will likely take several months.

The ICC has been probing allegations of crimes in Libya since 2011, when the toppling of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi morphed into a crippling civil war.

It has arrest warrants out for nine other Libyan suspects, including one of Gaddafi's sons. Earlier this year, authorities in Libya accepted the ICC's jurisdiction over the country from 2011 through to the end of 2027.

Italy arrested but then released on a technicality one of those suspects, Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, in January, sparking outrage among human rights defenders. He also was accused of crimes at the Mitiga prison.

Separately, the president of the ICC, Tomoko Akane, said on Monday that the court will not bow to pressure from the United States and Russia.

Nine staff members, including six judges and the court's chief prosecutor, have been sanctioned by US President Donald Trump for pursuing investigations into US and Israeli officials, while Moscow has issued warrants for staff in response to an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

The sanctions have taken their toll on the ICC's work across a broad array of probes at a time when the court is juggling ever more demands on its resources.

The ICC was established in 2002 as the world’s permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the most heinous atrocities — war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.

The United States, Israel, Russia and China are among the nations that are not members.