Gaddafi death probe 'depends on Tripoli'

The International Criminal Court prosecutor's strategy to deal with the October death of Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi will depend on Libyan investigations, his office said Tuesday. "The office of the prosecutor's strategy will depend on the activities of Libyan national authorities and whether they are genuinely carrying out such investigations," it said in a letter to a lawyer representing the late leader's daughter. Aisha Kadhafi's lawyer asked the International Criminal Court last week whether the killing of her father and her brother, Muatassim Kadhafi, was being investigated and if not, demanded to know why. "Libyan authorities promised to investigate the circumstances around Moamer Kadhafi's death," Luis Moreno-Ocampo's office said in the letter, of which AFP was given a copy. Moreno-Ocampo is to review Tripoli's probe and will make public his findings when he presents his second report to the UN Security Council in May. "During this report, the office of the prosecutor will present its strategy with regards to the future investigation of alleged war crimes committed in Libya including the killing of Moamer Kadhafi," the letter stated. The long-time Libyan leader and his son were killed in murky circumstances after being captured in Sirte on October 20. There has been international unease over the way Kadhafi died after opposition fighters dragged him out of a concrete sewage pipe where he had been hiding near his home. Videos taken at the time showed him alive. Subsequent footage shows a bloodied Kadhafi being hustled through a frenzied crowd, before he disappears in the crush and the crackle of gunfire can be heard. Aisha Kadhafi's lawyer Nick Kaufman wrote the letter to Moreno-Ocampo in which he said Kadhafi and his son were "murdered in the most horrible way, calling the two deaths "brutal murders." He also reminded the prosecutor of his duty to investigate "alleged crimes committed by all parties" in the Libyan conflict. The ICC issued arrest warrants against Kadhafi, his son and de facto prime minister Seif al-Islam and his security chief Abdullah al-Senussi on June 27 for crimes allegedly committed in trying to put down Libya's bloody revolt in February. Seif was arrested a month ago in southern Libya, while rebels also claimed to have nabbed Senussi, but his arrest still needed to be confirmed. The court dropped the warrant against Moamer Kadhafi after confirming his death. Aisha Kadhafi, her brothers Mohamed and Hannibal, her mother Safiya and other family members were allowed to flee to Algeria for humanitarian reasons, according to Algiers.