ICC delegation held over Saif al-Islam visit

Libya has arrested an Australian lawyer and three other members of a delegation from the International Criminal Court for allegedly trying to pass "dangerous" documents to Saif al-Islam, the detained son of slain leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"During a visit [to Saif on Friday], the lawyer tried to deliver documents to the accused; documents that have nothing to do with his case and that represent a danger to the security of Libya," said Ahmed al-Jehani, the Libyan lawyer in charge of the Saif al-Islam case and who liaises between the government and the Hague-based ICC.

The lawyer, named as Melinda Taylor, was part of a four-member ICC delegation that received permission from Libya's chief prosecutor to visit Saif in Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, where he is being held.

Jehani said she is "under house arrest in Zintan, not in prison," and is being questioned by the authorities.

The court demanded the delegation's immediate release in a statement on Saturday. "We are very concerned about the safety of our staff in the absence of any contact with them," said Sang-Hyun Song, the court's president.

"We are very concerned about the safety of our staff in the absence of any contact with them," the statement said.

"These four international civil servants have immunity when on an official ICC mission. I call on the Libyan authorities to immediately take all necessary measures to ensure their safety and security and to liberate them."

Saif al-Islam, who was captured last November by militiamen as he tried to flee the country, has been indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity.

Libya's interim government has so far refused to hand over Saif al-Islam for trial in the Netherlands - seat of the ICC. Libya has insisted he should be tried by a Libyan court.

Members of the brigade holding Saif al-Islam say they discovered documents including a letter from a former confidante of his who is now in Egypt, the BBC's Rana Jawad reports from Zintan.

The brigade commander said the transitional authorities in Tripoli had requested the release of the ICC officials, but they would remain in detention in Zintan - "where the crime has been committed" - pending an investigation by the attorney general's office.