LIBYA NEWS - Libya has dismissed the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Monday against leader Muammar Kadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdallah Senoussi, saying they were issued on the basis of 'malicious accusations' and aimed at furthering a 'political agenda'. In a statement issued here, Libya's Justice Ministry accused the ICC of serving as a 'cover for NATO which tried several times to assassinate the Libyan leader and his family'. 'The attempts are war crimes that must be fought by the court,' said the ministry's secretary, Mohamed Al-Ghamoudi, who also announced that Libya will sue NATO over these crimes.

The statement said Libya is not a party to the Rome Statute that set up the ICC, and thus does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, which it regards as 'an instrument of political pressure and blackmail to subdue the people of this world while the great powers and their crimes are immune from this court. '

Libya described ICC as 'a tool of political pressure and blackmail' and slammed the court for the way it handled the case of Libya, without any prior field investigation.

The statement also said Kadhafi and his son Seif, do not hold any official position in the Libyan state and have nothing to do with the allegations by the ICC Prosecutor.

Pana 29/06/2011