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STORY: UN / LIBYA
TRT: 04:58
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 15 MAY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
15 MAY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Various shots, Security Council, ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan on screen
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Karim Ahmad Khan, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC):
“It was a moment of real significance, a moment of hope, a moment of promise. When Mr. Osama al-Masri Najim was arrested by the Italian authorities on the 20th of January this year, based on an arrest warrant issued by Pretrial Chamber 1 of the International Criminal Court, at the request of my office. For the first time, we saw the potential for some sunlight to reach those sites, for some truth to emerge, to show the world what is happening and to give hope to the victims of crimes that we say have been committed. Mr. President, Excellencies, that hope for so many soon turned to frustration in the days after the arrest of Mr. Najim when he was returned to Libya by Italy, returned back to the place where we say had been committing crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture and persecution at Mitiga prison.”
4. Wide shot, Council, Khan on screen
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Karim Ahmad Khan, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC):
“The arrest of Mr. Najim and the publication of the arrest warrant in relation to him, have sent what can only be described as shockwaves through the militias, through the community of alleged perpetrators throughout Libya, a rising awareness that the rule of law has entered the territory of Libya, and the allegations are being forensically looked at, are being analysed, and that there are independent judges in The Hague that are doing their jobs.”
6. Wide shot, Council, Khan on screen
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Karim Ahmad Khan, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC):
“And I encourage the Libyan authorities to now handover Mr. Najim for transfer to the International Criminal Court so he can stand trial for the crimes that have been subject to the warrant issued by the Pretrial Chamber. Crimes against the Libyan people. And I particularly take this opportunity, Mr. President, to call upon the Attorney General of Libya, Mr. Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, to arrest Mr. Najim and surrender him to the ICC.”
8. Wide shot, Libyan Ambassador Taher Al-Sunni addressing Council
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taher Al-Sunni, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Libya:
“Our national justice system has the capacity to manage these issues. Please, know that the crimes in question have no statute of limitations according to our laws. Therefore, the Libyan prosecutors do have the information that they need on arrest warrants. And we follow these requests. This application is very closely. And, our Libyan justice officers are investigating very actively in these various cases, and we have made great strides when it comes to the context and conditions under which some of those crimes were committed.”
10. Wide shot, Italian Ambassador Maurizio Massari addressing Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Italy:
“As agreed with the court on May 6th, Italy submitted a memorial outlining the facts and circumstances of the case and providing the reasons for the decisions to release and subsequently deport Mr. al-Masri Najim to Libya. The latter also confirming to a request by the Libyan authorities. Said arguments are based not only on domestic security concerns, but also on the principle of complementarity of the Court's criminal jurisdiction, one of the pillars of the Rome Statute. In the memorial submitted to the Court Italy has therefore provided arguments related to security, legal and procedural aspects in order to demonstrate that it did not fail to abide by the obligation to cooperate with the Court.”
12. Wide shot, end of meeting
13. Wide shot, Ambassadors at the stakeout podium
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Denmark:
“We express our regret that the prosecutor was unable to brief the Council in person today, as mandated by the Security Council.”
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Denmark:
“We strongly reiterate our commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute, safeguarding its integrity against any threats and actions aimed at the Court, its officials, or its partners.”
16. Wide shot, ambassadors walk away
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Ahmad Khan, today (15 May) told the Security Council that “a moment of real significance, a moment of hope, a moment of promise” when Osama al-Masri Najim was arrested in Italy in January, had “turned to frustration” when he was returned to Libya by Italy.
Khan said, after the arrest, “for the first time, we saw the potential for some sunlight to reach those sites, for some truth to emerge, to show the world what is happening and to give hope to the victims of crimes that we say have been committed”
Najim is accused of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, and persecution at Tripoli’s Mitiga prison.
The ICC Prosecutor told the Council that Najim’s arrest had sent “shockwaves through the militias, through the community of alleged perpetrators throughout Libya, a rising awareness that the rule of law has entered the territory of Libya, and the allegations are being forensically looked at, are being analysed, and that there are independent judges in The Hague that are doing their jobs.”
He encouraged the Libyan authorities “to now handover Mr. Najim for transfer to the International Criminal Court so he can stand trial for the crimes that have been subject to the warrant issued by the Pretrial Chamber.”
Libyan Ambassador Taher Al-Sunni, told the Council that Libya’s national justice system “has the capacity to manage these issues,” noting that “the crimes in question have no statute of limitations according to our laws.”
Al-Sunni said, “our Libyan justice officers are investigating very actively in these various cases, and we have made great strides when it comes to the context and conditions under which some of those crimes were committed.”
For his part, Italian Ambassador Maurizio Massari said, “as agreed with the court on May 6th, Italy submitted a memorial outlining the facts and circumstances of the case and providing the reasons for the decisions to release and subsequently deport Mr. al-Masri Najim to Libya.”
Massari said Italy “has therefore provided arguments related to security, legal and procedural aspects in order to demonstrate that it did not fail to abide by the obligation to cooperate with the Court.”
Outside the Council, Danish Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen read statement on behalf of Council Members party to the Rome statute.
Lassen said, “we express our regret that the prosecutor was unable to brief the Council in person today, as mandated by the Security Council.”
She said, “we strongly reiterate our commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute, safeguarding its integrity against any threats and actions aimed at the Court, its officials, or its partners.”
In February, the United States sanctioned Khan over the Court’s investigation of alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza and the issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.
