Iain Edwards, appointed as associate counsel by the International Criminal Court and led by Yasser Hassan of the Cairo Bar, has appeared for the defence of Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri before Trial Chamber VII. The hearing was Mr El Hishri’s first status conference since the charges against him were confirmed in July 2026.
Iain was first appointed to the case in January 2026, shortly after Mr El Hishri was transferred to The Hague following his arrest in Germany.
Mr El Hishri is alleged to be a senior official of a Libyan group called the Special Deterrence Force, or RADA, and is accused of having been one of the leaders of the notorious Mitiga Prison in Tripoli. He is charged with 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including unlawful imprisonment, murder, rape, torture, enslavement and persecution.
This is the first case arising out of the situation in Libya in which an accused person has actually appeared before the ICC. In addition, the Libyan situation is only the second to have been referred to the ICC by the United Nations Security Council in respect of a State that is not a party to the Court’s Statute (the first being the situation in Darfur, Sudan, a case in which Iain is also instructed).
This case has provided the Defence with an unprecedented opportunity to challenge the Court’s exercise of jurisdiction on the basis that UNSC Resolution 1970 does not extend to the crimes of which Mr El Hishri is accused. The Defence has also argued that the Libyan Prime Minister’s declaration of acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute is unlawful. The jurisdiction challenge is under appeal.
Any trial is likely to start in 2027.
