TRIPOLI, Libya: The son of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who like his father is a wanted man under an international arrest warrant, denies that either of them ordered the killing of civilian protesters in Libya as prosecutors charge.Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi told Russian news channel RT in an interview posted online Friday that “most of the people” died when they tried to storm military sites, and that guards fired on them under standing orders to protect the bases and themselves.
However, documents from the International Criminal Court outline multiple instances in which the tribunal prosecutors allege government troops fired on civilian protesters during anti-Qaddafi street demonstrations earlier this year.
Seif Al-Islam wore a thick beard and traditional
“This court is a Mickey Mouse court ... For me to be responsible for killing people, it was a big joke,” he told the Russian state-funded network.
The Netherlands-based tribunal on Monday issued arrest warrants against the Libyan leader, his son Seif Al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Sanoussi.
The three are accused of orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of an uprising to topple Muammar Qaddafi from power, and for trying to cover up their alleged crimes.
Presiding Judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana has said that hundreds of civilians were killed, injured or arrested in the crackdown, and there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that Qaddafi and his son were both responsible for their murder and persecution.
But Seif Al-Islam denied that he and his father specifically ordered protesters to be killed.
“Of course not,” he said, arguing that government troops fired on protesters out of self-defense. “Nobody ordered. Nobody. The guards fired. That’s it. ...
The guards were surprised by the attacking people and they start ... firing. They don’t need an order to defend themselves,” he said.
In the interview, Seif Al-Islam accused Western nations of intervening in Libya because they are after the country’s oil and other resources. He said the goal is “to control Libya,” and he vowed to fight on.
“Nobody will give up. Nobody will raise the white flag,” he said. “We want peace, but if you want to fight, we are not cowards. ... We are going to fight.”
On Thursday, the French-2 network aired an interview with Muammar Qaddafi’s daughter Aicha, who said her father’s government is in direct and indirect negotiations with Libyan rebels. She didn’t elaborate, but said that to end the spilling of Libyan blood “we are ready to ally ourselves with the devil, with the rebel army.”