Libyan dictator’s son Saadi freed from jail

File photo shows Saadi Gaddafi.

Saadi Gaddafi, a son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi who was overthrown and killed in a 2011 uprising, has been freed from jail, said the interim government. Saadi, the strongman’s third son, now aged 47 briefly played as a professional footballer in Italy. “Saadi Muammar Gaddafi has been freed from prison,” following on from a court ruling several years ago, a justice ministry source said late Sunday in comments confirmed by the Government of National Unity. Several media reports suggested Gaddafi had already taken a flight to Turkey. The Turkish foreign ministry, however, said yesterday it had no information about Gaddafi’s possible arrival in Istanbul. Libya’s Presidential Council yesterday also announced the release of several other prisoners, including Gaddafi’s former cabinet and intelligence chief, Ahmad Ramadan, who was nicknamed “Black Box” for being the keeper of the dictator’s secrets. Saadi fled to Niger following the 2011 Nato-backed uprising, but was extradited to Libya in 2014. He was held in a Tripoli prison, accused of crimes committed against protesters and of the 2005 killing of Libyan football coach Bashir al-Rayani. In April 2018, the court of appeal acquitted him of Rayani’s murder. Since the 2011 uprising, Libya has sunk into chaos, with an array of rulers and militias vying for power. A 2020 ceasefire ended the factional fighting and paved the way for peace talks and the formation of a transitional government this March, ahead of elections set for December. But preparations are marred by disputes over when to hold elections, what elections to hold and on what constitutional grounds. Saadi was the third son of the flamboyant colonel who took power after a bloodless coup in 1969. For 42 years, the self-styled “Leader of the Revolution” ruled his “Jamahiriya”, or “state of the masses,” though not necessarily a coherent direction.The economy was hamstrung by the capricious leader’s whims — and he was accused of using the country’s oil wealth to fund and arm rebel groups across Africa and beyond. As he concentrated power in an ever-smaller, more nepotistic circle, he destroyed any institutions — military or political — that might challenge him. Meanwhile, his family lived a life of opulence, with private jets, luxury sports cars and a superyacht.