Ahead of the confirmation of charges’ hearing in the El Hishri case, on 19 May 2026, before the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) publishes a Questions & Answers (Q&A) discussing the charges featured in the arrest warrant for Khaled El Hishri, and their potential implications for victims.
.هذا البيان الصحفي متوفر باللغة العربية أيضاً
The El Hishri case arises from allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated in Libya between 2014 and 2020 against detainees, including migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, in Mitiga Prison, Tripoli, in the west of the country.
The Q&A explains how the Pre-Trial Chamber’s framing of the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity entails the exclusion of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as victims of all the crimes retained in the arrest warrant. If the Pre-Trial Chamber maintained its analysis when confirming the charges, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, who were victims of serious crimes while detained at Mitiga Prison between 2014 and 2020, may be precluded from participating in the ICC proceedings and obtaining reparations in the case. Thus, for this emblematic group of victims of Rome Statute crimes in Libya, a lot is at stake at the confirmation of charges’ hearing on 19 May.
“Failing to consider migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as victims in the El Hishri proceedings would be a serious blow to accountability and to the rights of these victims to truth, justice and redress,” said Saïd Benarbia, the ICJ MENA Programme Director. “The Office of the Prosecutor must ensure that its submissions to the Pre-Trial Chamber adequately substantiate the legal characterization of the crimes committed against this group of victims with a view to ensuring they be properly considered in the decision on the confirmation of the charges in this case.”
The Q&A addresses the following questions:
- Which crimes does the arrest warrant retain?
- Which crimes did the Pre-Trial Chamber not retain in the arrest warrant?
- Why did the Pre-Trial Chamber not retain the alleged crimes against certain groups of victims in the arrest warrant?
- Is the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision on the arrest warrant a final determination of the scope of the charges in the El Hishri case?
It remains to be seen whether the Pre-Trial Chamber will adopt a different approach in its decision on the confirmation of charges in the El Hishri case based on the additional submissions of the Office of the Prosecutor and, if it does not, whether the Appeals Chamber will rule differently.
Download
The Q&A can be downloaded in English and Arabic.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: said.benarbia@icj.org
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: nour.alhajj@icj.org
