THE BODY of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy remained in cold storage in the city of Misrata yesterday as calls grew for an investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Gadafy died as he tried to escape from his hometown of Sirte.
Amnesty International said video footage of his capture indicated he was taken alive.
“If Colonel Gadafy was killed after his capture, it would constitute a war crime and those responsible should be brought to justice,” Claudio Cordone, senior director at Amnesty International, said. “Investigating whether or not his death was a war crime might be unpopular. However, the NTC must apply the same standards to all, affording justice even to those who categorically denied it to others.”
Libya’s de facto prime minister Mahmoud Jibril said on Thursday that Gadafy was shot in the head in cross-fire. Other council officials gave different accounts, however, with some saying he died from injuries en route to hospital and others that he was killed by fighters after capture.
Council member Mohammed Sayeh told the BBC he didn’t think Gadafy was deliberately killed but even if he was, “I think he deserves this. If they kill him 1,000 times, I think it will not pay back the Libyans what he has done.”
Amnesty said if the council cannot conduct a full and impartial investigation, the International Criminal Court should take over.
Gadafy’s wife, Safia, who fled to neighbouring Algeria after Tripoli fell to the revolutionary forces in August, has reportedly demanded an inquiry from the United Nations.
An international commission of inquiry, launched by the UN’s Human Rights Council, is already probing killings, torture and other war crimes in Libya. UN officials indicated the commission would look into the circumstances of the dictator’s death and make recommendations about the need for either a full national or international investigation.
The NTC had initially pledged that Gadafy would be buried yesterday in accordance with Islamic law, which generally stipulates a burial within 24 hours. But officials later said the burial would be delayed pending an inquiry into the manner of his killing and a decision about a suitable burial site. Some said talks were talking place with members of Gadafy’s tribe to dispose of him in secret, so as to avoid creating a shrine for regime diehards.
Reporters in Misrata were shown the remains of Gadafy and his son Mutassim, who had apparently been shot at least three times, including in the neck and chest. The whereabouts of another son, Saif al-Islam, remain unknown. Rumours have been rife that he was wounded in Sirte, but speculation has mounted that he may have escaped south towards the border with Niger.
Meanwhile, the NTC’s planned formal declaration of liberation, which was due to take place today, has been delayed to Sunday.
The announcement, which will set in train a process leading towards elections and the drafting of a constitution, is expected to take place in Benghazi, cradle of the uprising that began in February.
Nato commander Adm James G Stavridis said he would be recommending that the alliance’s operations in Libya, which began in March following a UN Security Council resolution aimed at protecting civilians, should conclude within weeks.
He said this would mark “a good day for Nato. A great day for the people of Libya.”