ICC asks UN to help free detained staff in Libya

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The president of the International Criminal Court is asking the U.N. Security Council to urge the immediate release of four staff members detained in Libya when they went to visit the imprisoned son of deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

ICC President Sang-Hyun Song said the staffers have been held against their will in Zintan, where Seif al-Islam Gadhafi has been detained since militiamen from the western city captured him in November.

Song asked the Security Council "to urge the immediate and unconditional release of the court's four staff members."

On Wednesday, Libya's government spokesman said an initial investigation showed the ICC team committed a "security breach." Libya's prosecutor ruled that the team should be held for 45 days.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent Song's letter to the council on Friday.