ICC judges order a Libyan suspect to stand trial on murder, rape and torture charges

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — International Criminal Court judges on Thursday ordered a suspect from Libya to stand trial on charges including murder, rape and torture of detainees at a notorious prison, setting the stage for the global court’s first trial to focus on the North African nation.

The unanimous written decision to confirm 17 charges against Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri came after prosecutors laid out a summary of their evidence at a hearing in May, where they alleged that El Hishri abused detainees at Mitiga prison between 2014 and 2020.

Judges said “there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr. El Hishri is responsible” for the crimes.

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan hailed the decision as an important milestone for the court, saying it “brings us a step closer to delivering justice for thousands of victims who were unlawfully arrested, detained and subjected to severe suffering in Mitiga Prison.”

According to the charges, El Hishri was a senior commander at the prison in charge of the women’s section, where sexual violence was widespread. Prosecutors said his brutality earned him the nickname the “Angel of Death.”

The suspect’s lawyer, Yasser Hassan, had urged judges not to confirm charges against his client and argued the court had no jurisdiction. In a separate ruling this week, judges confirmed the ICC has jurisdiction in the case.

No date was immediately set for the trial to start. El Hishri was sent to the Netherlands in December by Germany, where he was arrested in July on a sealed ICC warrant.

Libya is not a member of the court but the judicial body was tasked by the U.N. Security Council in 2011 with launching an investigation in the country nation as it descended into lawlessness following an uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The court issued a warrant for Gadhafi, but rebels killed him before he could be detained and sent to The Hague.

The ICC came under the international spotlight this week with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing Monday that the U.S. was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

Rubio said he will pressure the court’s 125 member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organizations that work with the court and ban staff from traveling to the United States. Countries that “enjoy the benefits of the U.S. security umbrella” will be called upon to reject the court’s jurisdiction over U.S. citizens.

Trump’s administration already has brought sanctions against the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, and a dozen other ICC staff in retaliation for warrants the court issued for top Israeli officials over the war in Gaza and investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.