Original: English Date: 24 February 2023

THE APPEALS CHAMBER

Case before the International Criminal Court (ICC):

The Prosecutor v. Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi

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I. Statement of facts

1) A civil conflict started in early 2011 as part of the broader "Arab Spring." On February 27, 2011,
the forces opposed to Muammar Gaddafi established the National Transitional Council. In the regions
under rebel control, it was intended to serve as a temporary authority. A multinational coalition
commanded by NATO forces intervened on March 21, 2011, ostensibly to defend civilians from
attacks by the government's forces, when the government started to push back the rebels and a number
of crimes were perpetrated by both sides. On June 27, 2011, the International Criminal Court swiftly
issued an arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi and his group.

2) Despite the resistance held by forces loyal to Gaddafi's regime holding out for a further two
months, particularly in Gaddafi's birthplace of Sirte, which he proclaimed the new capital of Libya on
September 1, 2011, Gaddafi was overthrown from power on August 20, 2011, following Tripoli's fall
to the rebel forces. The following month, his Jamahiriya government came to an end with the seizure
of Sirte, NATO airstrikes against Gaddafi's escape convoy, and his assassination by rebel fighters on
October 20, 2011.

3) The Libyan revolution resulted in the formation of several armed groups, many of which were
made up of common workers and students, including revolutionary brigades that broke away from the
Libyan Army, post-revolutionary brigades, militias, and other armed groups. Some of the armed
organisations were created during the conflict with the regime, while others developed subsequently
for security reasons. Some were based on ties to particular tribes. The number, power, and influence
of the groups, which emerged in various regions of the nation, varied greatly. Despite the fact that
they were not a single entity, they were not necessarily at odds with one another. Most of the trained
and experienced soldiers and equipment came from revolutionary battalions.

4) Violence broke out, following the first Libyan civil war involving numerous armed groups that
fought against Muammar Gaddafi but refused to give up their weapons as the conflict came to an end
in October 2011. Many local armed groups filled the intricate security void left by Gaddafi's
overthrow as some brigades and militias transitioned from passively awaiting the surrender of their
weapons to actively asserting a continuing political role as "protectors of the revolution." There were
allegations of occasional confrontations between competing militias and vigilante retaliation killings
prior to the official cessation of hostilities between loyalist and opposition forces.

5) Following the 2011 uprising against his late father, former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam
Gaddafi was captured and held by an armed group in western Libya, according to one of his lawyers
and the brigade involved. A researcher for the organisation, Fred Abrahams claimed to have spent 30
minutes in private conversation with Mr. Gaddafi and that the Zintan warriors were "handling their
captives with care.” According to Mr. Abrahams of Human Rights Watch, Mr. Gaddafi had no issues
with the circumstances surrounding his arrest. Yet he endured amputation of parts of his right index
finger, and wasn’t given the right to have access to a lawyer. According to attorney Khaled al-Zaidi,
he was freed in the town of Zintan as a result of an amnesty statute issued by a parliament with its
headquarters in eastern Libya.

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6) In accordance with Articles 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, the International Criminal
Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Saif al Islam Gaddafi on June 27, 2011, alleging that Saif al
Islam Gaddafi had committed crimes against humanity against the Libyan people by killing and
prosecuting civilians.

7)Saif al Islam Gaddafi worked hard to build a reputation as the face of Libyan change, both at home
and abroad. He attended the London School of Economics to obtain a doctorate and also published a
thesis on the value of civil society organisations and democracy. He held no official government
position.

8)Once a human rights activist was taken into custody in February 2011, protests broke out in
Benghazi. The crowds are attacked by Gaddafi supporters and Libyan security forces. Sayf al-Islam
makes an appearance on state television as protests break out in other regions of the nation and
allegations of the indiscriminate killing of protestors by security forces reach the international media.
Although he warns that the dictatorship will fight "until the last bullet" and that the demonstrations are
a part of a foreign plan, he also offers a new debate about reform.
II. Applicable law
1. Statute of Rome
a. Article 7(1); (a), (h)
b. Article 8(2); (a)
c. Article 17(1); (c)
d. Article 19
e. Article 20(3)
2. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
a. Article 4(1)
b. Article 14
3. International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
a. Article 7(1)
4. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
a. Article 7
5. Geneva Convention 1949
a. Common article 3

III. Claims and arguments supporting the claims

1. The first claim is having a fair trial for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, excluding non-respect of rights
and reconsidering the legitimacy of the capital punishment decided by the Libyan Court in
2015.
The first argument is that the result of a trial is codependent on the evolution of expressing
and explaining facts. However, Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights enshrine the right to a fair trial.
That legal reason, alongside the declaration of the UN Human Rights Committee that “in cases of
trials leading to the imposition of the death penalty, scrupulous respect of the guarantees of a fair trial
is particularly important”, leads to the negative impact that the illegitimate decision of the Libyan
court has affected Gaddafi, which results in the necessity to eliminate the capital punishment.

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 The second argument is that during the trial The rights of Gaddafi were violated in court.
There was a lack of witnesses and no preparation for the defence allowed. Libya must abide by
Common Article 3, which prohibits the carrying out of punishments unless all judicial safeguards
have been afforded.

2. The punishment should be minimum, in accordance with the evidence and the situation of
Libya
The status quo of the event in Libya includes authorities` failure to comply with the
investigation of the suspects of abuses since 2011. In that situation, the Court should not accept the
submissions of the Government of Libya blindly. In November 2013, the UN Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention concluded that the detention of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was arbitrary, and due
process violation in the case of Gaddafi, it would be impossible to guarantee him a fair trial in Libya.
The crimes attributed to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi were intensified, as the violation of human rights would
not be possible only with his support.
After the Gaddafi regime collapsed in 2011, the rights of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi were violated,
and the measures imposed were forced. After Muammar Gaddafi was killed by rebels, Saif al-Islam
Gaddafi managed to escape in the first place, still arrested and put under an unfair trail, because the
anticipation of the important influence that he had. The facts were drastically manipulated by the
rebels in this situation, and the impact reflected on the evidence about Gaddafi.

3. The investigation of the responsible for the crimes

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Gaddafi administration’s former intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi,
al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, and Abuzaid Dord (former ministers) were simultaneously put under arrest
and suspected of crimes against humanity. The cases of Abdullah Senussi and al-Baghdadi
al-Mahmoudi were considered inadmissible by the ICC, even though the accusation implied all of
them.

4. Considering the case tried by the Libyan national courts inadmissible

According to the Security Council Resolution 1970 adopted under Chapter VII of the UN
Charter, the Libyan authorities have to collaborate with the ICC. National jurisdictions are unable to
prosecute Rome Statute crimes, still ICC judges are able to determine whether national proceedings
that have been existing meet the criteria for admissibility challenge. However, the Libyan authorities
did not respect the rights of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and answers get by the officials in Tripoli are not
grounded, because the tactics and strategies used to find them are not ethical in order to respect the
conditions of a fair trial.

IV. Claims and propositions

In light of everything that was stated, the bench of advocates respectfully asks the Court to:
1. To declare that Defendant:
a. Is found not guilty of:
i. being a co-perpetrator for the two counts of crimes against humanity that were
aforementioned
b. Is not responsible for breaching:
i. Art. 7(1)(a) from the Statute of Rome;

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 ii. Art. 7(1)(h) from the Statute of Rome
iii. Article 3 from the Geneva Convention 1949;
2. To adjudge that Defendant:
a. Will receive the minimum punishment corresponding to the crimes as mentioned earlier
b. Will be tried before the International Criminal Court, in accordance with his statement

Respectfully submitted,
(Signed) Advocate 1 Defence, Mihnea Călugăru
(Signed) Advocate 2 Defence, Cristina Rău
(Signed) Advocate 3 Defence, Alesia Petrica

COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENCE

On behalf of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi