TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - Moammar Gadhafi on Sunday called for the abolition of Libya's three decade-old exceptional courts and other strict laws criticized by human rights groups. During talks in Tripoli with judges and prosecutors, the Libyan leader urged delegates meeting across the country since Saturday in weeklong annual People's Congress forums to annul the laws, which were passed three years after Gadhafi seized power in a 1969 military coup. Libya's exceptional laws have, among other things, banned the formation of political parties and stipulated death penalties for dissidents.
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The official news agency JANA reported that Gadhafi also called for an end to arrests without warrant and urged the congresses to endorse international anti-torture conventions.
His appeal Sunday came after the March visit to Libya by a team of human rights workers from Amnesty International, the organization's first to the North African nation in 15 years. The Amnesty team visited Libyan prisons and met with Gadhafi, urging him to abolish the country's exceptional laws and People's Court, which handles political and security cases, and replace them with ordinary criminal courts. Those convicted by the People's Court have no recourse to appeal and no right to obtain independent legal counsel.
Gadhafi had promised to consider Amnesty's recommendations. The regional People's Congress forums usually adopt Gadhafi's recommendations, which eventually reach the General People's Congress, Libya's version of a parliament that meets annually in March, for ratification.
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