Muammar Gaddafi’s son released after seven years in prison | He was accused of committing crimes against protesters in Libya in 2011

Saadi Gaddafi, one of the sons of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was released after seven years in prison with several senior regime officials tabled in a controversial measure which, for the government of national unity, indicates “inclusive national reconciliation”. Saadi, a former Libyan football federation boss, played briefly in the Italian league before Interpol called for his and his family’s arrest for their role in the 2011 crackdown. Three years later, he was extradited and held in a Tripoli prison, charged with various crimes, including the 2005 death of Libyan footballer and coach Bashir al Rayani. But this Sunday Libyan court found Saadi innocent of various crimes he was accused of and ordered to release him to take care of his apparently delicate state of health.

Received “inocent”

“Saadi was handed over to his family in accordance with legal procedures”the Libyan national unity government said in a statement on Monday. No member of the Gaddafi family resides in Libya and most currently live in Oman.

After indicating that the logistics of the trip were coordinated with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the former spokesman of the deposed dictator, Muossa Ibrahim, confirmed to the newspaper New What Saadi is in Turkey with his family and children and for the time being he will stay in this country..

The 47-year-old fled to Niger after the uprising toppled his father in 2011, and in 2014 he was extradited to Libya. The former professional footballer was detained in Tripoli prison charged with crimes against protesters in 2011 and of Assassination of Libyan football coach Bashir al Rayani. He was also to be tried for his alleged involvement in the bloody repression of the revolt that ended his father Muammar’s regime in 2011.

His passage in Serie A

Saadi Gaddafi was known as the tyrant’s “footballer son”: In addition to playing in the capital’s main squad and being the captain of the national team, he has trained with several Serie A teams in the Italian League. and he played two matches, one with Perugia against Juventus in Turin in the 2003-2004 season, and the other with Udinese against Cagliari, in the 2005-2006 season.

He then signed for a season with Sampdoria, but didn’t even make his debut before returning to Libya to lead Al Ahly Tripoli. In your country, he was accused of arranging different parts and be behind the incident between the two main Libyan teams, which unleashed a violent crackdown and led Saadi Gaddafi to order the destruction of the stadium in Benghazi, the country’s second largest city.

In 2006, Saadi, who denounced torture while incarcerated, promoted a project to create a semi-autonomous city similar to Hong Kong in Libya, which would become an educational, medical, banking and high-tech center, which would not would not require a visa to enter. , with religious tolerance and “Western-style” trade laws.

The Gaddafi clan

Saadi Gaddafi is the third son of the former Libyan dictator, who came to power after a coup in 1969 and ruled the country with an iron fist for four decades.. Muammar concentrated power around the family circle and destroyed any institution, political or military, which eclipsed him. Still, the family didn’t hide their opulent pace of life, with private jets, sports cars and luxury yachts.

On October 11, 2011, the rebels attacked Sirte, his hometown, where Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mutasim died.. Another son, Seif al Arab, was killed in a NATO bombing in April 2011, and his brother Jamis was killed in action four months later.

Other members of the clan survived: his wife Safiya, his eldest son Mohammed, his daughter Aisha and his other sons Hanibal, Saadi and Seif al Islam, considered to be Muammar’s successor. At the end of July, Islam reappeared for the first time in years, giving an interview to the New York Times in which he mentioned a presidential candidacy that he would be supposed to present in December 2021.

Chaos in Libya

Libya has been in chaos since 2011, with rival factions vying for power. Despite the end of the fighting in 2020 and the resolution of a truce, divisions persist.

In its statement on Monday, the unity government, formed in March under the auspices of the UN, reiterated its commitment to “release all prisoners according to court decisions, without exception”, with the intention of move towards “inclusive national reconciliation, based on the application and respect of the law”.

A few hours after the release of Saadi Gaddafi, the presidential council, which is part of the transitional authorities, announced “the release of several political detainees who have served their sentences or who have not been triedincluding Ahmad Ramadan al Asebei. “The latter, a former army colonel and former director of Muammar Gaddafi’s cabinet and intelligence services, was arrested in September 2011.

“The Council is directly following the measures taken by the competent authorities with a view to the release of all non-sentenced prisoners, ensuring that the principles of justice and human rights are respected in the construction of the new Libya», Underlined the Libyan national unity government.

Current executive to hold legislative and presidential elections in December, but these elections seem increasingly unlikely due to the lack of a constitutional framework to govern them.