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Tripoli, 1 July:
The four-person legal team detained in Zintan since 7 June is expected to be released tomorrow, Monday, the ICC . . .[restrict]said today.
“The ICC president is going to Libya tomorrow and the release of the four ICC staff members is expected tomorrow,” Fadi el-Abdallah, spokesman of The Hague-based tribunal, told AFP.
The four were arrested after one of the team, the Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor, was accused of attempting to pass coded documents to Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi, for whom she is acting as a defence representative. Her Lebanese interpreter, Helene Assaf, was also said to have been found in possession of a “spy camera”.
Both the ICC and a number of leading international figures have repeatedly called on the Libyan government to release the team, claiming they have diplomatic immunity.
In spite of this, the ICC has never denied the allegations made against Taylor and Assaf.
In its most recent statement of 22 June, the court said it “deeply regrets any events that may have given rise to concerns on the part of the Libyan authorities” adding that “anyone found responsible for any misconduct will be subject to appropriate sanctions”.
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