The International Criminal Court held its first appearance hearing on Wednesday for Libyan national Khaled Mohamed Ali Al-Haishri, who is accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity inside Mitiga Prison in Tripoli. The session, which took place at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, is not the start of a trial nor a confirmation of charges.
Instead, it serves three procedural purposes: ensuring the accused has been notified of the allegations, confirming he has been informed of his rights under the Rome Statute, and setting a date for the future confirmation-of-charges hearing.
The court confirmed that Al-Haishri has received an Arabic-language copy of the arrest warrant issued against him and noted that a redacted version of the prosecution’s application for the warrant is publicly available. Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc reviewed the core rights afforded to suspects before the ICC, emphasizing their importance at this early stage of the proceedings.
During the session, the court announced that Al-Haishri’s legal team had submitted a request for conditional release earlier in the day. “We received an email this morning indicating that a request for conditional release has been submitted,” Judge Motoc said, adding that the document must be formally filed in writing for the chamber to address it. When asked whether he wished to make any remarks, Al-Haishri replied briefly: “I have no comment.”
The ICC confirmed earlier this week that German authorities had formally transferred Al-Haishri into its custody, making him the first Libyan citizen ever held by the Court since the UN Security Council referred the Libyan situation in 2011 under Resolution 1970. He was arrested in Germany on 16 July 2025 based on the ICC warrant.
According to the prosecution, Al-Haishri was a senior figure in the Special Deterrence Force (“RADA”) and is alleged to have committed murder, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence against Libyans and migrants between February 2015 and early 2020 inside Mitiga Prison. The Court stressed that additional suspects remain under active international investigation.
