Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi killed

Libyan media reported that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, was killed in an armed attack. Reports in the Libyan press stated that the 53-year-old Gaddafi was killed in the city of Zintan, Libya, where he had been living for years.

The attack was confirmed by Gaddafi's political advisor, Abdullah Osman, but the identity of the attackers and the circumstances of the murder are not yet known. Libyan authorities have not yet made a statement regarding the matter.

He had been sentenced to death

While Saif al-Islam Gaddafi never held an official position in Libya, he was considered his father's second-in-command from 2000 to 2011. Following his father's overthrow, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was captured after being reported by a Libyan nomad while attempting to flee to the neighboring country of Niger disguised as a Bedouin tribesman.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was imprisoned in Zintan in 2011 and was sentenced to death by firing squad by a court for war crimes, but he was released in 2017 under an amnesty law. An arrest warrant had also been issued for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.

He had applied for the presidency

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had applied to run in the presidential election on November 14, 2021, but his candidacy was subsequently canceled due to a final judicial ruling against him for murder and war crimes. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's appeal against the decision raised tensions, led to the collapse of the electoral process, and deepened Libya's political crisis.

News Source: 12punto