 The seal of the International Criminal Court | |
| File no. | 01/11 |
|---|---|
| Referred by | UN Security Council |
| Date referred | 26 February 2011 |
| Date opened | 3 March 2011 (2011-03-03) |
| Incident(s) | First Libyan Civil War Second Libyan Civil War |
| Crimes | Crimes against humanity: · Murder · Imprisonment · Torture · Persecution · Inhumane acts War crimes: · Murder · Torture · Cruel Treatment · Outrage upon dignity |
| Status of suspects | |
| Muammar Gaddafi | Deceased |
| Saif al-Islam Gaddafi | Fugitive |
| Abdullah Senussi | Charges dismissed |
| Tohami Khaled | Deceased |
| Mahmoud al-Werfalli | Deceased |
| Saif Suleiman Sneidel | Fugitive |
| Abdulrahem Al Kani | Fugitive |
| Makhlouf Douma | Fugitive |
| Nasser Al Lahsa | Fugitive |
| Mohamed Salheen | Fugitive |
| Abdelbari Al Shaqaqi | Fugitive |
| Fathi Al Zinkal | Fugitive |
| Osama Njeem | Fugitive |
| Khaled El Hishri | Arrested in Germany |
| Website:https://www.icc-cpi.int/Libya | |
TheInternational Criminal Court investigation in Libya or theSituation in Libya is an investigation started in March 2011 by theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) intowar crimes andcrimes against humanity claimed to have occurred in Libya since 15 February 2011.[1] The initial context of the investigation was the2011 Libyan Civil War and the time frame of the investigation continued to include the2019 Western Libya offensive.[2]
The ICC investigation in Libya was initiated by the February 2011United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970[1] in the context of the2011 Libyan Civil War.
Investigations started during theFirst Libyan Civil War, in 2011, led to several arrest warrants.[3]
On 27 June 2011, the ICC issued warrants of arrest for the Libyan head of state,Muammar Gaddafi, for his second son,Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, and forAbdullah Senussi, Muammar Gaddafi's intelligence chief and brother-in-law, married to Muammar Gaddafi's sister-in-law, for murders and persecution of unarmed civilians as crimes against humanity underArticles 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute. The case against Muammar Gaddafi was closed by the ICC shortly after his death.[3]
As of 9 May 2018[update], the ICC had outstanding warrants for the arrest ofTohami Khaled, former head of the Internal Security Agency of Libya during the final years of theMuammar Gaddafi government; and of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, both of whom were believed by the ICC to remain at large.[4] Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had been captured inZintan in 2014 and rumoured to have been released in June 2018.[5]
The ICC claims againstAbdullah Senussi were concluded in July 2014 on the grounds that his case was being tried in Libyan courts[3] and as of 9 May 2018[update], continued to monitor the progress of the Libyan legal proceedings against him.[4]
Investigations by the ICC continued during theSecond Libyan Civil War, which started in 2014.[4]
In April 2019, during the2019 Western Libya offensive, ICC Chief ProsecutorFatou Bensouda stated that both those directly committing war crimes in Libya during the conflict and their commanders would be liable to prosecution by the ICC, including anyone "ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing in any other manner to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court".[6] Prime MinisterFayez al-Sarraj of the Tripoli-basedGovernment of National Accord (GNA) stated on 17 April that the GNA would provide documentation to the ICC regarding the 16 AprilGrad shelling of residential areas[7] that killed at least seven people and wounded 17,[8] for which he attributed responsibility toKhalifa Haftar, leader of theTobruk-basedLibyan National Army (LNA).[9] On 2 May, a spokesperson for the GNA, Muhanad Younis, stated that administrative responsibility had been allocated for documenting war crimes during the Western Libya offensive and providing the documentation to the ICC.[10]
As of 6 April 2019[update], the ICC had two outstanding warrants for the arrest of LNA commanderMahmoud al-Werfalli, for involvement in seven alleged executions in and near Benghazi of 33 people during June 2016 to July 2017[11] and for allegedly executing ten people "in front of a cheering crowd" in Benghazi between 23 and 25 January 2018.[4] As of November 2017[update], the LNA had claimed that al-Werfalli had been arrested and was being investigated by military authorities, while the ICC believed that he was not under arrest and was commanding the al-Saiqa brigade of the LNA.[4] In February 2018, information about al-Werfalli's arrest status was unclear, and anInterpol red notice for his arrest was issued.[4] On 15 June 2022, the ICC dropped its case against al-Werfalli, more than a year after he was killed in Benghazi.[12] In August 2025, the ICC unsealed an arrest warrant for Saif Suleiman Sneidel, allegedly an associate of al-Werfalli who participated in executions by the al-Saiqa Brigade.[13]
In October 2024, the ICC unsealed arrest warrants for six Libyans connected to the Al Kaniyat militia for war crimes allegedly committed during its occupation ofTarhuna from 2015 to 2020, following the discovery of mass graves in the town.[14]
Since January 2025, Osama Najim (Almasri), a Libyan general, is wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed byRADA Special Deterrence Forces in Mitiga Prison inTripoli. He was briefly arrested inTurin on 21 January 2025. The attorney-general of Rome stated that the arrest was invalid because there had not been prior discussions with theItalian Minister of Justice. A court of appeal in Rome agreed with the attorney-general. Najim was released and left Italy.[15]
In July 2025, Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri (Al-Buti), another senior official of RADA Special Deterrence Forces, was arrested in Germany for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Mitiga Prison.[16]
In October 2025, following an earlier 2019 submission to the ICC Libya investigation, lawyersOmer Shatz andJuan Branco and their colleagues submitted a 700-page request to the ICC to prosecute 122 namedEuropean Union (EU) officials forcrimes against humanity for "migration policies [that the lawyers] argued led to the interception, detention, torture, killing and drowning of tens of thousands of people". Among the accused were senior EU officialsMark Rutte,Donald Tusk andFederica Mogherini and formerFrontex chiefFabrice Leggeri. The request was "based on six years of investigation, interviews with more than 70 senior European officials, minutes of high-levelEuropean Council meetings and other confidential documents.[17] According to the lawyers, whose group is named "EU Crimes Against Humanity", 37 people were suspected at the highest level of liability for the crimes, ranging fromAna Cristina Jorge (in relation toOperation Triton),Angela Merkel,Angelino Alfano through toUwe Corsepius andWalter Stevens of theEuropean External Action Service (in relation toOperation Sophia).[18]
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