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US-Palestine lawyer files lawsuit against Haftar with ICC 

August 29, 2020 at 11:48 am

Libya Chief of Staff, Marshall Khalifa Haftar (C) in Paris, France on 29 May 2018 [LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images]

Palestinian-American lawyer Akram Abusharar has filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Libyan retired General Khalifa Haftar for committing war crimes in Libya.

Abusharar aims to investigate Haftar and asserts that he committed multiple war crimes, especially following the discovery of mass graves in Libya.

He noted that the criminal court’s jurisdiction covers crimes including crimes against humanity, war crimes and state-to-state assault.

Abusharar confirmed that there was a referral from the Security Council to the ICC in February 2011 to investigate war crimes related to the Libyan case.

If the Security Council does not make a referral, crimes in Libya cannot be investigated, he explained, because Libya is not party to the Rome Convention.

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