World police body Interpol called Friday for the arrest of fugitive former Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi for his alleged crimes against humanity, following a request by the International Criminal Court. Interpol said it had issued a "red notice" for the arrest of Qadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, one day after ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked for the agency's help.
Interpol asked its 188 member countries "to take all measures consistent with their national laws to help the ICC locate and apprehend Qadhafi." The "request for Interpol Red Notices will significantly restrict the ability of all three men to cross international borders and is a powerful tool to help in their location and arrest," Interpol chief Ronald Noble said.
"Qadhafi is a fugitive whose country of nationality and the International Criminal Court want arrested and held accountable for the serious criminal charges that have been brought against him," the secretary general said. A red notice by the international police co-operation agency, which is based in the central French city of Lyon, seeks the arrest for an extradition or surrender of a person to an international court based on an arrest warrant. In June, ICC judges issued arrest warrants against Qadhafi, 69, Seif al-Islam, 39, and Senussi, 62, for "crimes against humanity" by troops under their orders, using "lethal force" to quell the uprising against his regime.
Qadhafi, who had ruled Libya with an iron fist since 1969, "had absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control over the Libyan state apparatus of power, including the security forces," the ICC said in a court document. His son Seif al-Islam "the most influential person within his inner circle" is his de facto prime minister, the court added. As head of military intelligence, Senussi "exercised control over the armed forces under his command that were deployed in the city of Benghazi in order to suppress civilian demonstrations," from February 15 to 20 this year.
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