Libyan parliament approves amnesty law

Libya's internationally recognized House of Representatives (parliament) on Tuesday unanimously approved a law of general amnesty, hours after a court in the capital of Tripoli issued death sentences on Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"The House of Representatives has issued a law of general amnesty with 99 parliament members present. The first article includes a general amnesty for all Libyans since Feb. 15, 2011 until today," parliament member Tareg Saqr Al-Jorushi told Xinhua.

"The law stipulates that a person included by the general amnesty law must present a written pledge not to commit crime again and to return the embezzled public funds, as well as reconciliation with victims of crime," Al-Jorushi added.

A Libyan court in Tripoli on Tuesday sentenced a number of former officials of Gaddaif's regime, including Gaddafi's son Saif, to death.

All those sentenced to death were convicted of directing war crimes against Libyans during the uprising against Qaddafi since Feb. 15, 2011.

Following the civil war which toppled Gaddafi, Libya has descended into anarchy, leaving a power vacuum in most of its territories and encouraging local warlords and extremism to grow.

Since last September, the UN Support Mission in Libya has been struggling to solve the political jigsaw puzzle in the country by brokering peace talks, but endless clashes between different armed groups and the lack of genuine desire to reach a political solution has made the UN efforts fruitless.
Source: XINHUA