The International Criminal Court announced on Monday (01/12/2025) that it is detaining Libyan Khaled Muhammad Ali Al-Hashari, detained in Germany in July by court order, which accuses him of exercising a leadership role in Mitiga prison, one of the most terrifying detention centers in Libya, where he allegedly committed war crimes and crimes against humanity between 2015 and 2020.
The suspect, considered one of the main persons in charge of the centre, had directly participated in or supervised murders, torture, rape and other systematic violations against thousands of detainees, according to the arrest warrant issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber on 10 July 2025.
Al-Ashri is the first Libyan national detained by the International Criminal Court awaiting trial since the investigation was opened in Libya in 2011.
Al-Ashry’s initial appearance is scheduled for soon, according to a court statement.
He was arrested while trying to travel to Tunisia
According to Der Spiegel magazine, he was arrested at Berlin airport in July while trying to travel to Tunisia.
Germany arrested him six days after the arrest warrant was issued and detained him throughout these months until the end of the national procedures stipulated in the Rome Statute, the ICC’s treaty, before proceeding to hand him over to the International Criminal Court.
According to court procedures, Al-Hashari will appear before the judges in a preliminary hearing, the date of which will be announced in the coming days. At that hearing, the court will confirm his identity, verify the language in which he can follow the process and ensure that he is informed of the charges he faces and his rights as a suspect.
One of the “senior officials” in Libyan prisons
Al-Hashari, known as “Al-Bati”, is allegedly one of the “highest officials” in Libya’s Mitiga prison, which is under the control of the Special Deterrence Force, known colloquially as Rada, and where thousands of people have been detained for long periods and were victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
ICC Secretary Osvaldo Zavala-Geller thanked Germany for its “firm and sustained” cooperation, which made possible the arrest and transfer of the suspect, a key step in one of the most complex investigations into violations committed in Libya since February 15, 2011, when the rebellion against dictator Muammar Gaddafi began.
Since then, the ICC has issued several arrest warrants against Libyan officials, but so far only the arrest warrant issued for Al-Hashri has been implemented.
JC (Efe, AFP)