BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Western leaders urged Libyan authorities on Saturday to work with the International Criminal Court in bringing the captured son of Muammar Gaddafi to justice, saying it was a vital step toward national reconciliation after a bloody civil war.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton hailed the arrest of Saif al-Islam, once tipped to succeed his late father as Libyan leader, as a "significant development" and told Libya's new rulers to ensure full cooperation with the ICC.
"It is important for future national reconciliation that those responsible for human rights violations committed both before and during the recent conflict are brought to justice," Ashton's spokesman Michael Mann said.
Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt went a step further, calling for the government to hand Saif al-Islam over to the ICC for trial.
The international court has issued arrest warrants earlier this year against Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity during a crackdown on anti-government protests that eventually flared up into a civil war.
"We ... congratulate the Libyan authorities," Bildt told Reuters. "It is now important to make sure that he is transferred, in an orderly manner, to the ICC."
Western leaders are eager to see the oil-rich state quickly form a competent government that can resume economic activity and prevent any further violence.
But after four decades of Gaddafi's authoritarian rule, Libya is riven with tribal animosities made stronger by war that complicate democratic transition.
WESTERN ASSISTANCE
British Prime Minister David Cameron joined calls for a fair trial and offered Libya help in ensuring justice.
"The Libyan government has told us again today that he will receive a trial in line with international standards, and it is important that this happens," he said in a statement.
"Britain will offer every assistance to the Libyan government and the International Criminal Court to bring him to face full accountability and justice for what he has done."
Human rights activists said a trial by the ICC would send the right message to the international community that Libya is serious about protecting human rights, particularly after Muammar Gaddafi's beating and death a month ago while in custody of fighters who helped toppled him.
"Fair prosecution at the ICC will afford Libyans a chance to see justice served in a trial that the international community stands behind," said Richard Dicker, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
But some experts said the Libyan government was likely to opt for trial at home and that the handling of Saif al-Islam would be a litmus test of the ability of Libya's new rulers to overcome divisions and give a foundation to credible state institutions.
"If Saif is to go on trial in Libya it will be a major challenge for a country with barely any functioning governmental institutions to speak of. A prolonged trial may also bring divisions to the surface," said Alan Fraser, a Middle East analyst at London-based consultancy AKE.
Renewed violence in Libya or lengthy transition to democracy would tarnish the West's costly intervention in Libya. A seven-month air and sea campaign by NATO that wound up at the end October was hailed by many Western leaders as a success, for its role in helping overthrow Gaddafi.
A NATO spokeswoman said the alliance trusted the authorities and the ICC to secure justice for Saif al-Islam after his capture, a spokeswoman for the military alliance said.
"We note reports about Saif al-Islam's arrest," Oana Lungescu said in a statement on Saturday. "We trust that the Libyan authorities and the International Criminal Court will ensure that justice runs its course, so that the new Libya can be built on the rule of law and respect for human rights."
(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Additional reporting by Peter Apps in London and Helena Soderpalm in Stockholm; Editing by Jon Boyle)
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