The Great Debate - Colonel Muammar Gaddafi´s capture

Whether he died during a battle, in an ambulance afterwards, or was shot while captured is unclear and hasn’t been verified.

Despite international condemnation of Gaddafi, his regime, and his response to the uprising in Libya; it should be internationally viewed that he deserved the right to a fair and free trial.

This right was laid out in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948, and had been common practise in many free countries beforehand.

For a Western government to not agree with this (including in the case of Gaddafi) would be to deny freedoms to which they hold so strongly, and is why they were condemning the death of Gaddafi, whilst still celebrating his downfall.

Guilty or not guilty, he should at least be given a right to explain himself. For family of victims of his regime or of those who were killed in the fighting, finding out his motives and hearing his story may have been paramount to them in recent months with his downfall looking more and more likely – and to see him convicted may be of some comfort to the bereaved.

Although plurality may not be guaranteed, it would have been better for this brutal era to have ended morally and legally and a trial held inside Libya (not a member of the ICC) than for him to have been killed.

Although Muammar Gaddafi’s failed capture is regrettable there is still the prospect of putting his son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi on trial. Although he is believed to currently be in neighbouring Niger, he has been in indirect contact with the ICC, which wants to try him for crimes against humanity, murder and persecution.

By the ‘Against Team

Although many news agencies have focused on those wanting to see him put on trial at the ICC, many Libyans rejoiced at the death of their former leader and had little interest in a trial at all.

There has been the moral argument that justice for those killed by the regime was achieved upon Gaddafi’s death, with many Libyans arguing that Gaddafi didn’t need a trial, in death he paid the price for forty-two years of brutality.

If Gaddafi had been tried the process would have certainly been long, complicated and costly. Although it cannot be denied that Gaddafi certainly takes many secrets to his grave, how many secrets would he have revealed during a trial? With nothing to lose, Gaddafi would have been unlikely to cooperate or reveal much anyway.

Gaddafi’s death also marks the end of a difficult and painful chapter in Libyan history. Would a trial not just prolong the painful memories and ghosts of Libya’s past?

The death of Gaddafi enables Libya to move on and rebuild, a lengthy trial would ensure Gaddafi’s presence lingering over the Libyan people at a time for reconciliation and rebuilding.

Ultimately, was it not for the Libyan people to decide Gaddafi’s fate? Although the violence surrounding Gaddafi’s last moments was sickening, with many in the Western world preferring Gaddafi to have a trial, Libya is an independent country and it is not for the likes of Britain, France and America to dictate to the Libyan people the fate of their former leader.

By an interested reader

Some may argue that there are no rules in war, but the justice system disagrees. If Gaddafi was deliberately killed in captivity, it constitutes a war crime.  It’s obvious, but important to note that the laws of war apply to both parties in a conflict; not just the side you disagree with. And the capture of Gaddafi was a chance for the leaders of the rebels to show that they were better than the old regime.  Killing him, in my opinion, did not prove this.

Ideally, Gaddafi would have had a fair trial. As well as being morally just, it may also have helped to ensure a smoother transition of power.  On top of this, it would have been an opportunity to investigate the dodgy deals Gaddafi had struck with the West. Because of his death, these deals will not be scrutinised, and the people involved will face no consequences.

 However, I recognise that the circumstances in Libya were far from ideal, and I do understand the basic psychology of mob mentality. I also recognise that I am privileged in that I’ve never lived under a murderous dictatorship; if my family had been tortured and I was faced with the man responsible, I’m not entirely sure I’d be able to react in a rational way.

But in order for Libya, or any society, to succeed, there needs to be a distinction made between justice and revenge.  Gadaffi’s death, to me, was the latter, and even though he was undeniably a cruel and brutal dictator, I definitely feel that he should have faced a fair trial.