[JURIST] International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official websites] revealed that investigators have evidence that Libyan leader Mummar Gaddafi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] committed crimes against humanity. During an interview with the Associated Press, Ocampo said he would soon be seeking five arrest warrants [Reuters report] for various crimes committed by Gaddafi. Ocampo indicated that there is strong evidence [AP report] of Gaddafi’s involvement in various crimes against humanity, including the shooting of civilians, massive arrests, torture and forced disappearances. Ocampo will present this evidence to the ICC judge who will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Gaddafi. Also during the interview, Ocampo indicated that he will ask the ICC judge to open investigations into crimes against humanity in the Ivory Coast [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] committed since November’s presidential election.

In April, Ocampo revealed that his office had uncovered evidence [JURIST report] that embattled Gaddafi planned to attack civilians to forestall regime-toppling revolution. Ocampo indicated that the plans were made in response to the conflicts in Tunisia and Egypt and included shooting civilians. In March, Ocampo told the press that he is 100 percent certain his office will bring charges [JURIST report] against Gaddafi. Also in March, the ICC launched a probe into allegations of crimes against humanity [JURIST report] by the Libyan government. Ocampo specifically identified Gaddafi, his sons and his political allies as targets of the investigation and warned Libyan officials that complicity in such abuses would result in prosecution. In February, the UN Security Council unanimously voted [JURIST report] to refer Gaddafi to the ICC for prosecution.