Libyan authorities release football son of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi

The Libyan authorities have announced the release of Saadi Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is said to have left the country after his release.

This was confirmed by the government in a statement in which it clarified that Gaddafi’s third son released “two years after the decision to release him”. Gaddafi was handed over to his family, authorities added, although local press reports that immediately after his release he was transferred to Istanbul by plane, Alwasat reports. However, his final destination would be Egypt, where his mother resides.

The Libyan administration reaffirmed in the statement “Their commitment to release the prisoners who are still detained without legal provisions” to move forward on the path of national reconciliation.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibé also indicated via his Twitter account that Libya “cannot move forward without achieving reconciliation or establishing a state without obtaining justice”, for which Gaddafi was released on the orders of the prosecution.

Gaddafi’s son fled to Niger in 2011 after the uprising that started in the country and resulted in the capture and death of his father, although in 2014 he was extradited to Libya, where he has since been imprisoned . He was indicted and ultimately acquitted on counts of “murder, deception, threats, enslavement and defamation of former player Bashir Rayani”.

Gaddafi’s release comes days after his brother, Saif al Islam, the target of a prosecutor’s arrest warrant, announced his intention to participate in the next presidential elections called in Libya on December 24.

The African country has been in limbo since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, although it has had a new unity government since March after a process of talks to unify opposing administrations, after internationally recognized authorities based in Tripoli repulsed the offensive last year. launched by General Khalifa Haftar, an ally of the Eastern authorities, and after a process of talks which included a ceasefire agreement.

Elections are scheduled for December 24.

There is currently in the country a duality of powers by which the interim government, with the Parliament of Tobruk, controls the eastern part and enjoys the support of the Libyan national army, and on the other hand the government of national accord, approved by the UN and led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibé, based in Tripoli, in the north-west of the country.

THE SON OF FOOTBALLER

Al Saadi, 47, was known as the tyrant’s “football son”: In addition to playing for the main team in the capital and being the captain of the national team, he has trained with several Serie A teams in the Italian League., and played two matches, one with Peruggia against Juventus in Turin in the 2003-2004 season, and another with Udinese against Cagliari in the 2005-2006 season.

He also signed for a season with Sampdoria, but didn’t even make his debut until returning to his country to lead Al Ahly Tripoli.

In his country, he was accused of having rigged various matches and of being at the origin of the incident between the two main Libyan teams, which sparked a violent crackdown and led Al Gaddafi to order the destruction of the stadium of Benghazi, the second largest city in the country.

In 2006, Al Saadi – who denounced torture during his incarceration – 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 require a visa. to enter, with religious tolerance and “Western-style” trade laws.

(with information from EP and EFE)

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