ICC officials accused of spying freed in Libya

Four officials of the International Criminal Court, held by Libyan militia accused of espionage, have been freed after a month in detention.

The President of the ICC Sang-Hyun Song led a delegation to Libya in anticipation of the release, which came after the court apologised.

The Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor and her interpreter Helene Assaf were held in Zintan in the west of Libya by an ex-rebel militia group. Two male colleagues stayed with the women.

Sang-Hyun Song apologised for what he called the “difficulties” that had arisen from the officials’ mission.

Taylor had been sent to Libya to represent Saif al- Islam, the son of the overthrown dictator Muammar Gadhafi. She was accused of smuggling documents and secret recording devices to him.

The ICC wants him in the Hague to face war-crimes charges from last year’s revolution that toppled and eventually killed his father. Libyan authorities want him to face trial in their own courts.

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