Libya receives deadline extension on Gaddafi status from ICC

The International Criminal Court extended Libya’s deadline to provide information about the status of Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Reuters reported.

A spokesman for the ICC said the deadline, which was originally set for Tuesday, January 10, has been pushed to January 23.

Libya’s National Transitional Government leaders said on Monday they need three more weeks to respond to questions about Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Associated Press reported. Judges only gave them the extra week to make their decision, saying in a written statement, three extra weeks “would cause an undue delay,” the AP reported.

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Saif al-Islam's sister, Aisha Gaddafi expressed disappointment that Libya failed to meet the original for responding to the ICC, the AP reported. Her lawyer, Nick Kaufman, said Aisha Gaddafi “regrets that her brother Saif al-Islam continues to be denied his basic human rights, namely access to a lawyer, access to a competent judicial authority charged with reviewing the conditions of his detention and communication with his family,” the AP reported.

Saif al-Islam was captured and arrested in Libya in November and has been indicted for crimes against humanity. Although Libya’s leaders want him to stand trial in their country, they must decide if they will be able to provide a fair trial or if the ICC should take over.

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The ICC has told Libya if they do not make a decision by deadline they could hand the case over to the United Nations Security Council, the BBC reported.

Saif al-Islam is being held in Zintan, a western town in Libya, with little access to the outside world. While he said he was being treated well, he has not been given access to a lawyer, he told a Human Rights group representative, the AP reported.