Gaddafi's son said to be freed in Libya, whereabouts unclear
Source: Reuters
Sun Jun 11, 2017 | 3:24am EDT
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has left the town of Zintan where he had been held since 2011 after being freed by an armed group, according to one of his lawyers and a statement from the brigade.
The lawyer and the brigade said he had been released under an amnesty law passed by a parliament based in eastern Libya. The lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, said Saif al-Islam was headed to another Libyan city but he could not say where for security reasons.
Previous reports that Saif al-Islam had been released from Zintan turned out to be false. A Tripoli court sentenced Saif al-Islam to death in 2015 for war crimes, including killing protesters during the revolution.
Zintan, which grew powerful through its role in the 2011 uprising and has been at odds with authorities in Tripoli, had refused to hand him over.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-saif-idUSKBN192092
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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (pictured in 2011) was sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli in 2015
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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: Reformist turned 'war criminal'
His father's preferred successor, he had been held by a militia in the town of Zintan for the past six years. The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said he had been released on Friday but he has not been shown in public. Local reports suggest he is now in the eastern city of Bayda with relatives.
The militia group said it was acting on a request from the "interim government". That government - based in the east of the country - had already offered amnesty to Saif al-Islam.
However, he has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Tripoli, the west of the country, where control is in the hands of the rival, UN-backed Government of National Accord. Previous reports of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's release proved to be false.
The 44-year-old - who was controversially granted a PhD by the London School of Economics in 2008 - was captured in November 2011 after three months on the run following the end of Gaddafi's decades-long rule.
He was previously known for playing a key role in building relations with the West after 2000, and had been considered the reformist face of his father's regime.
But after the 2011 uprising, he found himself accused of incitement to violence and murdering protesters. Four years later, he was sentenced to death by firing squad following a trial involving 30 of Gaddafi's close associates.
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