TRIPOLI — Libya's government and the UN expressed
concern Monday over an intimidation campaign that has shut the court where the
son of slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi is appealing his rejected presidential
bid.
اضافة اعلان
The elections on December 24 come as Libya seeks to turn the
page on a decade of violence since a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and
killed Gaddafi in 2011.
Last Wednesday, Libya's electoral commission announced the
rejection of the candidacy of his son Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, who is wanted by
the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.
Unsuccessful applicants were given 48 hours to appeal in
court.
But on Thursday morning, a "group of outlaws"
launched an "odious" attack on the court in the southern city of
Sebha, forcing it to shut hours before Saif Al-Islam had been due to appeal,
the government in Tripoli said.
Similar incidents have been reported since, with footage
broadcast on local media showing gunmen — presented as belonging to the
eastern-based strongman and presidential candidate Khalifa Haftar — blocking
access to the court.
The Libyan government said in a statement late Monday that
it was "following with great concern the tensions around the court in
Sebha, which threaten the legitimacy of the judicial institution".
"Threatening the lives of judges or trying to influence
their work risks plunging Sebha back into civil war," it added.
The United Nations Libya mission UNSMIL also said in a
statement that it was "following with great concern the continued closure
of Sebha Court of Appeal" where it said "judges were physically
prevented from conducting their legally mandated duties, directly impeding the
electoral process".
"UNSMIL is also alarmed by increasing reports of
intimidation and threats against judges and judicial employees, particularly
those dealing with electoral-related complaints, as well as against candidates,
in a number of locations in Libya."
Dozens of people, including supporters of Saif Al-Islam,
protested in Sebha on Monday to denounce an "attack on the work of
justice".
Saif Al-Islam was among 25 of the 98 hopefuls whose
presidential bids were turned down.
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