The International Criminal Court (ICC) is holding its first public hearing in the case Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the slain Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

The development came on Tuesday amid disagreements over whether he should be tried in Libya or The Hague as Libyan authorities argue that Saif al-Islam should face justice on the North African country’s soil.

In June 2011, ICC charged the 40-year-old with crimes against humanity over the killing of civilian protesters during mass demonstrations against the regime of his father.

Saif al-Islam is also accused of organizing a plan to use “any means necessary” to suppress the Libyan revolution together with his slain father.

At the beginning of the two-day hearing, Libyan lawyer Ahmed al-Jehani called on the international community to “be patient.”

He further told ICC judges the Libyan authorities “needed time” to organize a fair trial for Saif al-Islam.


Since Saif al-Islam’s arrest in November 2011, Libyan officials have repeatedly asserted that they want him to stand trial at home and not at the ICC in The Hague.

In January 2012, Libya's Minister of Justice Ali Humaida Ashour announced that “the trial [of Saif al-Islam] will be in public and observers will have the right to attend court.”

Libyans rose up against Gaddafi in February 2011 and deposed him in August 2011. He ruled for more than four decades without a legislature.

Press TV