(12 Jun 2012) International Criminal Court (ICC) officials on Tuesday reiterated their concerns over the detention of four ICC staff members in Libya who had been assigned to help defend the legal interests of Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the imprisoned son of deposed ruler Moammar Gadhafi.
Fadi El Abdallah, an ICC spokesman, told the Associated Press in The Hague that the court hadn't received any official information from the Libyan authorities "about the circumstances or the reasons or the conditions of their detention".
The ICC had demanded the release of the four staffers on Saturday and said it was concerned about their safety.
"We consider that this detention is illegal because these staff members possess immunities under international law, they are international civil servants who are on official business to Libya as part of the respect of the defence rights in the case against Mr Gadhafi, and the Libyan authorities had agreed to have this visit and to facilitate this visit," said El Abdallah.
El Abdallah said the court was in contact with the families of the four detained staff members "to keep them informed and try to give them all support that they need".
Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who has been held by revolutionary fighters since his capture in November, is at the centre of a wrangle between the international court and the new government in Tripoli, both of which have drawn up plans to prosecute him for alleged war crimes.
Under international law, a country has the first right to try suspects for crimes committed on its own soil.
But the ICC indicted Seif al-Islam before the fall of his father's regime and cannot drop his case until it is convinced that Libya's new government will prosecute him for the same crimes - and that it is capable of giving him a fair trial.
The lawyer that represents Libyan interests at the Hague court, Ahmed Al-Jehani, said on Saturday in Libya that authorities in Zintan, south-west of Tripoli, had detained Australian defence lawyer Melinda Taylor.
He said authorities took her camera and recording device before her Thursday meeting with Seif al-Islam, but that inside she shared documents that they said could harm Libya's national security, including information and drawings that could endanger Libyans living abroad.
The ICC noted in a statement Saturday that it had been empowered by the United Nations Security Council to deal with Seif al-Islam's case, and that Libya is obliged to obey court rules which ensure "rights of the suspects to have privileged contacts with their lawyers."
The incident underlines one of the concerns raised by human rights groups in Seif al-Islam's case: whether Libya's new regime has enough control over the country to be able to give the court credible guarantees about his safety.
Since Gadhafi's ouster, the new government in Tripoli has struggled to impose its authority throughout the country.
Cities, towns, regions, militias and tribes all act on their own, setting up independent power centres.
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