[A week ago the International Criminal Court ordered Libya to hand over Abdullah al-Senussi -- the man whom some suspect of having orchestrated the Lockerbie bombing. The Reuters news agency has now reported that Libya has formally appealed this order:]
Libya appealed on Tuesday against an order to hand over Muammar Gaddafi's former spy chief to an international tribunal, saying it is capable of trying Gaddafi-era officials at home.
Judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague have said Libya must extradite Abdullah al-Senussi over his alleged role in orchestrating reprisals against protesters in the 2011 uprising that overthrew Gaddafi.
They would decide later how to respond if the North African state continues to hold Senussi, the judges added. The court has the power to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council.
Ahmed al-Jehani, the Libyan lawyer who liaises between the Libyan government and the ICC, said Libya would continue to push for its right to judge Senussi.
"Today we completed the appeal to the ICC after the order to hand him over," Jehani told Reuters, flipping through the papers of the appeal.
"Libya continues in this appeal process to prove that it wants to be part of the international community. The old Libya would not have bothered."
Last week, ICC judges ordered Libya to hand over Senussi and let him see his lawyer, raising the stakes in a dispute over who has the right to try the deposed strongman's top lieutenants.
Libya has become a test case of the effectiveness of the 10-year-old court, which relies on the cooperation of member countries to arrest suspects and enforce its orders.
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