ICC delegates detained in Libya

A delegation from the International Criminal Court has visited colleagues detained by a local militia in the Libyan mountain town of Zintan, says a senior official.

Ahmed al-Jehani, Libya's ICC envoy, said the group was eventually allowed into the town after an initial delay.

The four detained ICC staff had gone to Zintan to meet Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader.

The Hague-based court, the Australian government and rights groups have all demanded their immediate release. The ICC said their detention is illegal as they are immune from prosecution.

However, Tripoli says the accused has put national security in jeopardy and will be held for 45 days while they are investigated.

The Zintan militia captured Saif al-Islam last November and has since refused to hand him over to central authorities in Tripoli.

Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor was detained last week, after being accused of clandestinely passed Gaddafi a coded letter from a fugitive former aide, Mohammed Ismail. Meanwhile her Lebanese translator Helene Assaf is accused of being her accomplice.

Two others - Russian Alexander Khodakov and Spaniard Esteban Peralta Losilla - are with them, but it is unclear whether they are staying out of solidarity for their colleagues or are being held against their will.

"I can confirm that the ICC delegation entered Zintan and visited their colleagues," despite initially being halted at the entrance to the town by militia members, Mr Jehani was quoted as saying.

"They are well in a guesthouse, not in a prison. They have food, water, and are being treated well," Mr Jehani reportedly said.

That was confirmed by Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, who said the Australian envoy had told him the detainees were "under no duress, they are enjoying air conditioning and television and fridges with fruit and yoghurt," reported Radio Australia.

But he added: "The sad point is that there is no immediate prospect of release."

Libyan authorities have been involved in a tussle with the ICC over where Saif al-Islam should stand trial over his role in last year's uprising that ended his father's decades-long rule of Libya.

The ICC had been permitted to provide him with access to ICC-appointed defence lawyers, and those detained were part of that team.

-BBC