Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Tuesday that the court can exercise its jurisdiction in the case The prosecutor against Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri. El Hishri was said to be a senior official in the armed group Special Deterrence Force. He is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes in 17 cases allegedly committed in Libya between May 1, 2014 and June 30, 2020.
The decision comes after El Hishri’s defense filed a lawsuit Challenge April 30th into the jurisdiction of the court in accordance with Article 19 des Roman Statute. The defense argued that since Libya is not a state party to the Rome Statute, the court had no jurisdiction to prosecute, since the defendant was a Libyan national and the alleged crimes were committed exclusively on Libyan soil.
The chamber decided unanimously that the court had jurisdiction over the case. In February 2011, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided to act under Chapter VII des United Nations Chartersubmitted the situation in Libya to the Court Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute. Article 13(b) allows the Court to exercise its jurisdiction when the United Nations Security Council refers to the ICC Prosecutor a situation in which war crimes or crimes against humanity appear to have occurred. The court noted that such an order, adopted in 2011, confers jurisdiction on the court.
El Hishiri first appeared in court in December 2025 after being arrested by German police last July. The charges relate to his role in Mitiga prison near Tripoli. Prosecutors allege that El Hishiri exercised authority over the entire Mitiga prison and personally busy in torture, mistreatment, sexual abuse and killing of prisoners.
Hishiris Confirmation of the arraignment hearing took place from May 19th to 21st. The purpose of the charge determination process is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of the crimes of which a person is suspected. If the charge is confirmed, the case will be transferred to a criminal division for trial. A decision confirming the charges must be made within 60 days of the hearing.
