UN wants Gaddafi's death probed

Sunday, October 23, 2011

The United Nations and two human rights groups are pressing for an investigation into the death of Muammar Gaddafi.

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville from the Office of the U.N. High Commission for Human Rights said in a statement on Friday that "there seem to be four or five different versions of how he died," and that "more details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in the fighting or after his capture."

Specifically pressed on the possibility Gaddafi was executed whilst detained, he said, "It has to be one possibility when you look at these two videos. So that's something that an investigation needs to look into."

"Summary executions are strictly illegal under any circumstances. It's different if someone is killed in combat. There was a civil war taking place in Libya. So if the person died as part of combat, that is a different issue and that is normally acceptable under the circumstances," Colville said.

"But if something else has happened, if someone is captured and then deliberately killed, then that is a very serious matter," he said.

Amnesty International, a human rights group, has urged the National Transitional Council to reveal the circumstances surrounding Gaddafi's death.

Questions have lingered about the true cause of Gaddafi's death, with two separate videos showing him wounded and bloodied but alive and another showing him already dead with a bullet wound on his head.

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Sources

"U.N. calls for Gadhafi death investigation" — CNN, 22 October 2011
"U.N. rights office urges inquiry into Gaddafi death" — Reuters, 22 October 2011

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