(19 Mar 2012) 1. Wide of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
2. Wide of the ICC with a sign reading: (Dutch) "Den Haag" (translation: The Hague)
3. Mid of Fadi El Abdallah, ICC spokesman
4. Close up on a sign outside the ICC
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Fadi El Abdallah, spokesman, International Criminal Court (ICC):
"We are informed about the reports of the arrest of Abdullah al-Senoussi in Mauritania. He is one of the suspects against whom there was a warrant of arrest issued in the context of the situation in Libya. So we contacted the Mauritanian authorities and served the warrant of arrest, notified them with the warrant of arrest and a request for confirmation of the reports, and also surrender.... cooperation order to surrender him to the ICC, and we didn't get a response from the Mauritanian authorities to this moment."
6. Wide shot of the IC
STORYLINE
A spokesman for the International Criminal Court in The Hague confirmed on Monday that it had been in contact with the Mauritanian authorities to seek official confirmation of the arrest of Abdullah al-Senoussi, Moammar Ghadafi's former intelligence chief.
Al-Senoussi is accused of attacking civilians during the uprising in Libya last year, and involvement in the 1989 bombing of a French airliner.
He was arrested in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on Saturday carrying a fake Malian passport.
The ICC had previously issued a warrant for the arrest of al-Senoussi and is now seeking confirmation of his arrest from Mauritania, and cooperation to have him sent to The Hague to stand trial.
ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said "we contacted the Mauritanian authorities and served the warrant of arrest, notified them with the warrant of arrest and a request for confirmation of the reports, and also cooperation order to surrender him to the ICC, and we didn't get a response from the Mauritanian authorities to this moment."
El Abdallah said that while Mauritania is not a member of the court, all UN member states have been urged by the Security Council to cooperate with the court's efforts to prosecute suspects indicted in Libya.
Mauritania's state information agency said in a statement that al-Senoussi was arrested at the airport in the Nouakchott upon arrival from the Moroccan city of Casablanca.
A spokesman for Libya's ruling National Transitional Council, Mohammed al-Hareiz, confirmed that the ex-intelligence chief had been captured by Mauritian officials.
If al-Senoussi is handed over to the ICC, he would be the first suspect indicted for alleged atrocities in Libya to be taken into their custody.
Judges at the Netherlands-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for al-Senoussi last June on two counts of crimes against humanity - murder and persecution - for allegedly masterminding attacks on civilians in the early days of the uprising that eventually toppled Gadhafi from power.
As Gadhafi's regime crumbled in the second half of 2011 after more than four decades of rule, many of the dictator's inner circle fled from advancing rebels toward the Sahara, where the regime had long cultivated ties with desert groups both in Libya and in neighboring countries.
A Libyan military official said al-Senoussi, who is also Gadhafi's brother-in-law, likely fled to Chad just before the opposition captured the capital Tripoli in October and passed through Mali and Morocco before heading to Mauritania.
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