THE HAGUE // The International Criminal Court (ICC) has denied that it had agreed that Saif Al Islam Qaddafi, the son of toppled Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, will be tried in Libya.
"The ICC has made no decision on this matter," Fadi El Abdallah, a court spokesman, said in response to a claim by Libya's Justice Minister Ali H'mida Ashur that Mr Qaddafi would be judged by a Libyan court.
The ICC confirmed on Twitter that it had received a reply from the Libyan authorities to questions asked by its judges, meeting the January 23 deadline.
"The ICC has accepted that Saif Al Islam will be tried in Libya by the Libyan judiciary," Mr Ashur said.
"The trial will take place in Libya. The Libyan justice is competent and we gave the file [on Mr Qaddafi] to the ICC on Friday."
Mr Qaddafi has been in the custody of the military council of Zintan, a town 180 kilometres south-west of Tripoli, since his arrest on November 19.
He is wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the conflict in Libya.
The international court had asked Tripoli in December to say by January 6 "if and when" Mr Qaddafi would be handed over for trial in The Hague.
That deadline was extended to today at Libya's request because of the "security situation" in the country since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in October.
