Libya: UN following attempts to thwart electoral process

The United Nations has expressed concerns over the forced closure of a Libya appeals court that is meant to decide whether the son of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi can run for president

CAIRO -- The United Nations expressed concerns Monday over the forced closure of a Libya appeals court that is meant to decide whether the son of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi can run for president.

The UN mission to Libya said in a statement that it is following reports that an armed group had ‘violently obstructed’ the functioning of a court in the city of Sabha in the southwest of the country.

Judges there are responsible for deciding on whether Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the onetime heir apparent to his father, will be able to run for the country's top office, after he filed an appeal against a decision last week that barred him from taking part. The country's impending elections are the result of years of UN-led negotiations between the country's warring parties.

The UN also shared alarm at the treatment of judges, who in Sabha were ‘physically prevented’ from fulfilling their duties. It voiced further worry over a growing number of accounts of judges across the country being threatened, particularly those handling election-related cases. Candidates have a window of time before the Dec. 24 vote to file appeals related to their own candidacy or against other candidates.