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Malta: would send fleeing Libyan leaders to ICC

by Reuters
Monday, 22 August 2011 09:07 GMT

VALLETTA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Malta said on Monday that if Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi or other senior Libyan government officials tried to escape to the Mediterranean island, it would immediately send them to the International Criminal Court.

Several international media reports had spoken of Malta as a possible destination for Gaddafi, whose whereabouts on Monday morning were unknown. Rebel fighters were in control of most of the Libyan capital Tripoli after a rapid advance on Sunday.

"Should Colonel Gaddafi or any wanted Libyan government officials come to Malta, they will be arrested and transferred immediately to The Hague", a Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters.

The government also said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had congratulated the Libyan people on its march "towards freedom and respect for human rights" in a phone call to Mahmoud Jibril, chairman of the Libyan National Transitional Council.

Gonzi reiterated Malta's support for the rebuilding of Libya as a modern, democratic country based on freedom, justice and human rights. (Reporting by Chris Scicluna, editing by Tim Pearce)

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