Top European Union and member states' officials should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity over the drownings of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, international lawyers said Monday. The Paris-based lawyers presented the International Criminal Court with a detailed 245-page file which they said was handed to chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda's office. The information provides "enough evidence implicating the EU and member states officials and agents with crimes against humanity committed in pursuant to EU migration policies in the Mediterranean and Libya" since 2014, they said. "It was perfectly clear that they were people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and they (the EU) voluntarily funded these individuals," lawyer Juan Branco told AFP. Their communication refers to "EU and member states' officials and agents" but also mentions countries such as France, Germany and Italy, which are all ICC member states.

Source: Libya Today June 03, 2019 13:36 UTC