The New Indian Express ·
ICC says trial of 'Angel of Death' Libya prison boss El Hishri to begin May 4
THE HAGUE: A notorious Libyan prison boss dubbed the "Angel of Death" will stand trial on charges of murder, rape and torture from May 4, the court said on Monday.
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, 48, faces 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between 2014 and 2020 at the Mitiga prison near Tripoli.
Presiding judge Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor set the date for the trial, which will be the first to stem from a United Nations-mandated investigation into alleged crimes in Libya, which began in 2011.
Alexis-Windsor said she wanted the trial to be conducted "fairly and expeditiously... without undue delay".
She also noted that at least six years had passed since the alleged crimes and also the victims' desire to see the trial start as soon as possible.
The prosecution and the defence had jointly called for the trial to start on June 8.
At a previous ICC session in May, deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said El-Hishri "was widely known as a notorious torturer at the helm of Mitiga prison".
Khan quoted one witness as saying El-Hishri was "amongst the worst instigators of violence" and another saying he was nicknamed "the Angel of Death".
"One of his preferred torture methods, as described by witnesses, was to shoot people, especially in the leg and knee," alleged Khan.
"He would also hang people with their hands bound behind their backs and beat people with a shovel."
The suspect personally raped, murdered and tortured prisoners as an "example" to other guards, alleged the prosecutor.
At the May hearing, El-Hishri's defence lawyer said his client denied the charges and lodged an unsuccessful challenge to the ICC's jurisdiction.
Libya is still grappling with the aftermath of the armed conflict and political chaos which followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The oil-rich country remains divided between a UN-recognised government in the west and its eastern rival, backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
The ICC tries individuals for the world's worst crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court is also seeking Osama Almasri Najim, head of Libya's judicial police, on charges also relating to alleged crimes at the Mitiga prison.
Najim was arrested in Italy but released and returned to Libya, sparking a major political row in Italy and consternation at the ICC.