ZINTAN, Libya. - The four panel delegation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who were detained by Libyan military brigades for about a month have been released, with an apology from the ICC president Sang-Hyun Song during his visit to Libya.
Song also thanked authorities for the "release of the four ICC staff to be re-united with their families," and "expressed his relief that the ICC staff members were well treated during their detention,"as reported by BBC News.
One of the four delegates, Melinda Taylor, has been accused of passing on documents to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former dictator, Mohammad Gaddafi,on a visit to Libya in May to meet with the Saif al-Islam, son of former dictator, Mohammad Gaddafi. The four ICC members were detained after learning that one of the lawyers, Taylor, contained suspicious documents, including a letter from Mohammad Ismaili, an ally of Gaddafi, according to reports by the Guardian. Taylor is al-Islam's defense lawyer in his indictment by the ICC for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the 2011 uprising. Libya's lawyer at The Hague told The Guardian that the documents were a threat to Libya's national security.
Currently, al-Islam is also being held in capture by revolutionaries who demand that the case against him be held in Libya as opposed to The Hague.
The four delegates are due in a Tripoli court on the 23 of July. A Libyan official told BBC News, "We expect them to come back for the hearing but if they don't, a ruling will be made in absentia."
