The French media site “Media Bart” has uncovered 40,000 documents, including documents linking former International Criminal Court prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to Libyan businessman Hassan Tatanaki.
The documents, quoted by the Sunday Times and read by members of the European Bureau of Investigation and Cooperation, confirmed that Ocampo, while serving as prosecutor for international crimes, signed a $3 million contract to advise Libyan billionaire Hassan Tatanaki, who is closely linked to the Gaddafi regime.
The documents revealed that Ocampo while in office kept the accounts of foreign banks and companies in tax havens. This is what triggered concerns on ethics and integrity of the court.
The documents revealed that Ocampo, after leaving office in the court, acted as a defense lawyer for people deemed potential targets of the court in #Libya; ignoring the conflict of interest and the confidentiality of investigations.
Ocampo commented on the leaked documents, stating that he did not undermine the work of the ICC in #Libya during his appointment as a prosecutor general; adding that he provided advice, through the contract with Tatanaki, to help end the civil war in #Libya.
Ocampo advised Tatanaki to take caution in dealing with the commander of Operation Dignity, Khalifa Haftar. Ocampo added that Tatanaki should not give Haftar any money as he is committing war crimes in #Libya, stressing that ‘if he cannot control him, then he should be careful of him’.
According to the documents, one of the leaders of the Libyan National Air Force appeared on the television program run by Tatanaki, threatening to kill anyone who does not join his military attack; stating that “they must be slaughtered because they are traitors and their wives must be raped before their eyes.”
Ocampo had discovered this information from the International Criminal Court’s International Cooperation Advisor, and kept silent about it. According to sources, Tatanaki then closed his program due to Ocampo’s advice.
Ocampo sent an email to Tatanaki’s assistant on the issue. The email stated that ‘the commander should not say that, and we should discuss how we prevent such statements. The channel should not promote such rhetoric. We need a strategy to protect Hassan Tatanaki from the International Criminal Court’s pursuits’.
While Ocampo is reaping the rewards of his $1 million annual contract with Tatanaki, the latter secretly and openly supports militias accused of committing and inciting war crimes, whose members and supporters may face charges by the ICC.
During this period of time Ocampo did not condemn Tatanaki nor did he terminate his contract with him in protest of his affiliations.On the contrary, he decided to protect his client from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to the leaked e-mail messages.
Also, Ocampo has taken measures to ensure the legal protection of Tatanaki and the military commanders. At a later time he emailed Tatanaki’s assistant stating that ‘[he] propose[s] a comprehensive plan to ensure that Hassan and the forces he supports are not the object of ICC prosecution’.
The former ICC prosecutor finally realized that ‘Tatanaki does not want peace unless he can ensure that he and General Haftar make it to their liking’- as reported by the Sunday Times.
Ocampo confirmed, during a comment made in regards to the leaked documents, that he had worked with Tatanaki for only three months; during which he received only 750 thousand dollars. On the other hand, businessman Hassan Tatanaki refused to comment on these documents.
#ArraedLG #BuildingANation