A reported proposal by Saif al-Islam, the son of slain Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, to surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC), was a ploy to gain time to flee Libya, a senior official at the National Transitional Council was quoted as saying Thursday dpa reported
"Both Saif al-Islam and Abdullah al-Senussi (Gaddafi's intelligence chief) know well that the Libyan authorities will request to have them tried in Libya," the official told the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al Awsat in remarks published Thursday.
"This is a legal right for the Libyan people, which no-one, including the International Criminal Court, can dispute," he added.
The official, who was not named by the paper, was commenting on reports that Saif al-Islam and al-Senussi proposed handing themselves in to the ICC. Both are wanted by the court over alleged crimes against humanity.
"Most likely, it is a new ploy for manoeuvring and gaining time," said the official.
"If they turned themselves in to the court, we would request they be tried in Libya," added the official.
Saif al-Islam and al-Senussi have been on the run since October 20 when anti-Gaddafi troops seized the port city of Sirte, where the former strongman was captured and killed.