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International prosecutors have had "informal contact" with the son of slain ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The International Criminal Court (ICC) said intermediaries had been used in indirect talks with Saif al-Islam. Prosecutors said the court had made it clear to Gaddafi's son, who is wanted for crimes against humanity, that he was innocent until proven guilty. Saif al-Islam, who was once the presumed successor to his father, has been in hiding for months. Recent reports claimed he was in a convoy heading toward Libya's desert border with Niger, where other Gaddafi allies have fled. But those reports have not been confirmed, and the ICC said it did not know where he was. Zimbabwe-bound? ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said in a statement that the ICC wanted him to face trial. "The office of the prosecutor has made it clear that if he surrenders to the ICC, he has the right to be heard in court, he is innocent until proven guilty. The judges will decide," the statement said. The ICC arrest warrant issued for Saif al-Islam in June accuses him of murder and persecution. The document claims that he played an essential part in the systematic attacks on civilians in various Libyan cities carried out by Gaddafi's security forces in February. Mr Moreno Ocampo said the ICC had learnt "through informal channels" that mercenaries were offering to move Saif al-Islam to a country that has not signed up to the ICC's statute. "The office of the prosecutor is also exploring the possibility to intercept any plane within the airspace of a state party in order to make an arrest," the statement said. Reports say Zimbabwe is a likely final destination for Saif al-Islam if he chooses to flee from the ICC. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was a long-time ally of Muammar Gaddafi. The former Libyan leader, who was deposed in August after six months of civil conflict, died from gunshot wounds last week after fierce fighting in the city of Sirte.