"The evidence shows that Moammar Gadhafi personally ordered attacks on unarmed Libyan civilians," he said. "His forces attacked Libyan civilians in their homes and in the public space, shot demonstrators with live ammunition, used heavy weaponry against participants in funeral processions and placed snipers to kill those leaving mosques after prayers."
Libya did not sign the treaty that created the International Criminal Court and indicated it would ignore the prosecution move. Governments spokesman Musa Ibrahim denied the allegations and criticized what he called the "incoherent" conclusions of the prosecutor's office.
"We have never in any stage of the crisis in Libya ordered the killing of civilians or hired mercenaries against our people," Ibrahim said. "In fact, it is the rebels who took up arms in the middle of our peaceful cities."
Saif al-Islam is a close adviser to his father, while al-Sanussi serves as Gadhafi's head of intelligence. Saif al-Islam organized the recruitment of mercenaries to defend the regime and al-Sanussi participated in attacks on demonstrators, Moreno-Ocampo said.
Authorities believe Gadhafi "personally ordered" attacks on unarmed civilians, he told CNN, and al-Sanussi is "his right-hand man, the executioner."
"Gadhafi organized to arrest any suspected dissident, and they tortured them and they disappeared," Moreno-Ocampo said.
Judges on the court must now decide whether to issue the arrest warrants Moreno-Ocampo wants. They have never turned down a request from him in his 10 years with the court, he said.
A panel of judges in The Hague can accept his request, reject it or ask for more evidence. It could take weeks or months for the judges to decide what to do.
Moreno-Ocampo said senior officials in the Libyan regime have called him in the past few days to offer him their support. He did not name them but indicated that "less than 10" had done so.