Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was seeking warrants against Qaddafi, his son Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Sanoussi. The three, he said, ordered, planned and participated in illegal attacks.

He said Qaddafi's forces attacked civilians in their homes, shot at demonstrators protesting his 40 years of rule with live ammunition, shelled funeral processions and deployed snipers to kill people leaving mosques.

Judges must now evaluate the evidence before deciding whether to confirm the charges and issue international arrest warrants.

"The case is now in their hands," Moreno-Ocampo told reporters at a news conference.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said he had no immediate comment. Speaking before Moreno-Ocampo's announcement, Libya's deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, said the threat of arrest warrants was not worth discussing.

He told reporters in Tripoli on Sunday that Qaddafi's regime would "not pay any attention to the decision," adding that Libya did not recognize the jurisdiction of the international court. He said that most African countries also reject its rulings.

Still, the arrest warrants — if they are issued — could complicate efforts to find a haven for Qaddafi as a part of any negotiated settlement to the Libyan crisis.

The Arab League, meanwhile, has asked satellite operator Arabsat to stop transmitting Libyan state-owned channels, the 22-member bloc said in a statement.

The Arab League's Council of Ministers "has requested the Arab Satellite Communications Organization to halt the transmission of the Libyan Jamahiriya channel and all television channels affiliated with the Libyan authorities, in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1973," it said.

Arab League members meeting in Cairo made the request late Sunday, after talks to elect a new secretary-general.

In the opposition-held east of the country, lawyers have accused regime broadcasters — Al-Jamahiriya and Al-Jamahiriya 2 — of inciting hatred and violence by painting anti-government fighters as terrorists seeking to split the country in two.