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Saif al-Islam Qaddafi |
(Reuters) - Libya will make a point of giving Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam a fair trial to show the world it is no longer a tinpot dictatorship, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor said on Thursday.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said he will not demand that Saif al-Islam be handed over to the Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity even though he has no guarantee that a Libyan trial would be fully fair.
In a Reuters interview, he said he believed Libya would still put together a convincing trial and not a whitewash.
"They are committed to doing something very good," Moreno-Ocampo said in Tripoli after meetings with Libyan officials following Saif al-Islam's capture on Saturday.
"They want to show the world that this is a serious country with smart people and they can do a good job. It's an issue of national pride. I think you should not distrust them so easily."
The National Transitional Council (NTC), which led the revolt that toppled Gaddafi in August and has ruled the country since his fall, has repeatedly said it will not hand over Saif al-Islam and will ensure that he faces a fair trial in Libya.
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