Gaddafi's Eldest Son Saif Captured 'Alive and Uninjured' Claim Libyan Officials
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Saif al-Islam caught in Nessma, near stronghold of Bani Walid / Loyal son tried to broker peace deal on behalf of his father 10 days ago / Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi's spokesman, also caught while fleeing to Misrata / Father and three of sons dead, three more and daughter still at large

Moammar Gaddafi's eldest son Saif al-Islam has been captured 'alive and uninjured' Libyan officials this morning claimed.

There had been various reports of Saif's condition following the death of his father, with some reports that he had been shot, and even some claims that he had lost both arms.

However, a National Transitional Council spokesman told NBC last night that Saif and Moussa Ibrahim, the former media frontman for the Gaddafi's regime, were captured in Nessma, near Bani Walid, while they were being moved to Misrata.

NTC spokesman said the Osoud el Wadi brigade, which translates as 'Lions of the Valley,' were responsible for the capture. The claims could not immediately be verified last night.

Conflicting reports emerged yesterday claiming that Saif he had already been captured in Zlitan, 99 miles from Tripoli, while receiving treatment for wounds.

No pictures have emerged of Saif since his father was captured and killed on Thursday.

Any escape will worry the British political elite who could face acute embarrassment if Saif was ultimately captured and ended up in court.

Saif became close to leading figures in the British government after Tony Blair signed the notorious ‘Deal in the Desert’ in March 2004.

Prince Andrew has also been linked to the bomber’s controversial release.

The Duke of York was accused of holding secret ‘detailed discussions’ over the release of the Lockerbie bomber with Saif in 2009, during an official Foreign Office-sponsored trip to Algeria. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, October 23, 2011

Saif al-Islam Goes from Fugitive to Facing the Libyan People

THE GUARDIAN: Wherever Muammar Gaddafi's son stands trial, he will be defending not just himself but his whole family

Even on the run, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the 39-year-old son of ColonelMuammar Gaddafi, continued to insist on his innocence of crimes against humanity for which he has been indicted, contacting the international criminal court late last month through an intermediary.

It was suspected then that Saif was in Libya's vast desert areas close to the border with Niger, perhaps travelling in a convoy. In reality, it appears, Saif was travelling with only a handful of bodyguards when he was caught by National Transitional Council forces near the southern town of Obari. Now it seems likely that he will have to prove his innocence not in The Hague but in Tripoli, the capital he fled, in what is certain to become a show trial. Saif will be answering not only for himself but for his whole family.

The ICC had sought Saif on an international warrant as an "indirect co-perpetrator of murder and persecution as crimes against humanity", accusing him of "assuming essential tasks" to enact a plan, between 15 and 28 February this year, to launch attacks on Libyan civilians.

Saif was flown by pro-government forces to Zintan, where an angry crowd attempted to storm the plane. Dressed in a Tuareg scarf, heavily bearded and with a bandaged hand, he refused, however, to confirm his identity to a Reuters correspondent who saw him and described the prisoner as looking like Saif.

A commander in Zintan and the country's interim justice minister confirmed his capture. The ICC said that it was in discussions to ensure he was treated appropriately.

If Saif makes it safely to trial – not a certainty, given the deaths of his father and his brother Mutassim after their capture in Sirte – that court appearance will be the culmination of a long and extraordinary journey for the man many once believed was the reformer in the Gaddafi clan.

It was a journey that took Saif, a handsome and plausible figure with an excellent command of English, German and French, from the London School of Economics, where he studied, to meetings with high-ranking international figures. » | Peter Beaumont | Saturday, November 19, 2011

'Hero' Tribesman Who Helped Capture Saif Gaddafi Reveals: 'He Offered Me a Million Euros to Get Him Out of Libya, Instead I Drove Him to an Ambush'

MAIL ONLINE: Military commander whose troops captured Saif is rewarded with role as nation's new defence minister / Libya can try ousted leader's son at home, but International Criminal Court insists its judges must be involved

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif, on the run in Libya as rebel forces closed in on him, offered a village tribesman one million euros to drive him safely over the border into Niger, it was claimed today.

The so-called playboy son of the deposed leader promised to pay the £860,000-odd sum for safe passage, so that he could one day return to reclaim control of Libya.

But the tribesman, Yussef Saleh al-Hotmani, instead drove Saif to a part of the desert where rebel gunmen were lying in wait.

Mr Hotmani said he had been offered the money - the equivalent of more than 1.6 million Lybian dinar - so Saif and four companions could escape capture and possible execution at the hands of troops loyal to the National Transitional Council.

But he said: 'I was offered millions but all the money they had would not buy a pebble of our sand or one drop of our martyrs' blood.'

It might have also been because Mr Hotmani had feared he would be killed after holding up his end of the bargain.

Mr Hotmani was speaking to reporters in Zintan, where Saif is being held at a secret location before the details of his prosecution are finalised. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Betrayed by His Desert Guide
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was betrayed to his captors by Yusef Saleh al-Hotmani, a Libyan nomad who says he was hired to help Muammar Gaddafi's son escape to neighbouring Niger on the promise he would be paid one million euros.

Read article here | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Saif Gaddafi Sets Libya's New Rulers a Test of Commitment to Human Rights

THE GUARDIAN: Tyrant's son has become an unlikely rallying point for human rights activists as he languishes in jail without a lawyer

Home for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is currently a converted living room with a dirty beige carpet in a compound close to Zintan, a modest mountain town 100 miles south-east of Libya's capital, Tripoli. Uniformed guards are his only company and he is denied visitors, television, radio and the internet.

He shakes hands with his few visitors with his left hand, because the thumb and forefinger of his right have been severed. He insists this was the result of being targeted in a Nato air strike, but some Libyans think it was the work of a rebel sympathiser, as punishment for Saif's habit of wagging his finger at rebels on his television broadcasts. Fred Abrahams of Human Rights Watch, granted a rare interview with Saif, reported that he looked well and gets fed three times a day. What Saif does not get is access to a lawyer, or any sight of the charges that Libya's new rulers say he faces.

Which is why, less than three months after his father's death, Saif is fast becoming an unlikely rallying point for international human rights advocates. It is a twist of fate no one would have anticipated, but Libya's rulers face increasing criticism over their failure to fulfil promises to set up a proper justice system. Saif, always the most influential son of the late Muammar Gaddafi, has been languishing in his makeshift prison cell since being arrested by militias in November.

The failure of the authorities to tell him what he is charged with or give him access to a lawyer has prompted a torrent of criticism from rights groups. » | Chris Stephen | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Captured in Libya

THE GUARDIAN: Interim Tripoli government says son of Muammar Gaddafi was arrested while attempting to flee to neighbouring Niger

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the fugitive son of Libya's deceased former dictator, has been arrested in southern Libya, according to officials from the country's new government.
Libyan state TV reported that Saif has arrived in captivity and unhurt at an army base in the town of Zintan, 90 miles south-west of Tripoli.

Muammar Gaddafi's second and highest-profile son was captured along with several bodyguards by fighters near the town of Obari in Libya's southern desert, said the interim justice minister and other officials.

Saif was said to be in good health, according to the justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi.

"We have arrested Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in [the] Obari area," the minister told Reuters.

Saif was captured near the southern city of Sabha with two aides trying to smuggle him out to neighbouring Niger, militia commander Bashir al-Tayeleb said. » | Chris Stephen in Tripoli and David Batty | Saturday, November 19, 2011

Photo of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi »

How Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Seduced the West
BBC: The director of the London School of Economics Sir Howard Davies has submitted his resignation after admitting an "error of judgment" in establishing links with the regime of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi.

Sir Howard visited Libya to advise the regime about financial reforms and accepted a £300,000 donation from the Libyan leader's second son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi for research at the LSE.

His departure underlines just how politically toxic links with the Gaddafi regime have become ever since it began its brutal suppression of the Libyan uprising.

Saif al-Islam's former friends and business associates in the west have become embarrassed to admit ever knowing him now his reputation as a liberal reformer has been scuttled.

Yet just a few weeks ago Saif was socialising with the crème de la crème of British society.

So how did so many respectable people get it so wrong?

In part this is because Saif makes such a good impression in the media. Tall and handsome, he speaks fluent English and presented himself as the acceptable face of the Gaddafi regime.

With few exceptions, he sided with the reformers in Libya and seemed prepared to go head-to-head with his father in an attempt to develop the fledgling Libyan private sector and open up the atrophied media.

'Like the Godfather'

But Saif's warm reception in influential business, academic and political circles in the West was also attributable to the eagerness in some quarters to gain access to Libya's oil wealth.

"If Libya was a country without an oil producing capacity, I don't think Saif would have convinced the West," said Dr Omar Ashur, a lecturer in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. >>> Hugh Miles, BBC Radio 4, The Report | Friday, March 04, 2011

David Cameron Rules Out Deal for Saif Gaddafi
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has ruled out offering Saif Gaddafi, the dictator's son, any special deal or treatment if he wishes to leave Libya, Downing Street officials said yesterday.

Saif Gaddafi will now be treated in the same way as his father after making a series of inflammatory statements over the past few weeks. He was previously a regular visitor to Britain and was close to politicians and businessmen.

However, he is now likely to be arrested if he attempts to flee to this country or another European nation.

Downing Street has stated its position towards Saif Gaddafi after it emerged that one of his key aides had travelled to Britain earlier this week, during which he had talks with intelligence officials. This sparked speculation that the aide, Mohammed Ismail, was exploring a possible exit deal for Saif Gaddafi – although this has been played down by Whitehall sources.

Noman Benotman, a Libyan and senior analyst at Quilliam, a think tank, said that his contacts had told him Mr Ismail had proposed a scenario under which Gaddafi's sons would take over, or at least have a role in a new government, and their father would step aside with his honour intact.

The British Government is understood to have ruled out the "scenario" and Mr Ismail was told Gaddafi, and those around him, had to go.

A government source said Mr Ismail had been visiting family members, but that Britain had "taken the opportunity to send some very strong messages about the Gaddafi regime".

Yesterday, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "If people are in the UK they are subject to UK law."

He also made clear that Saif Gaddafi will be classed the same way as his father. "We have a very clear view about the present regime and those people involved in that regime," he said. » | Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor | Friday, April 01, 2011

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: The New Face of Libyan Defiance
THE GUARDIAN: Colonel Gaddafi's son was educated in London and has friends in the City and Westminster. Or he did until last week

Geneva places a high premium on guarding secrets, but rumours are a different currency. Amid momentous scenes being played out across the Middle East last week, sources in the Swiss financial centre were privately gossiping about a visit to Geneva earlier this year by Farhat Bengdara, the governor of the Central Bank of Libya.

According to one popular rumour, Bengdara had visited Geneva with a purpose. He was there to make changes to key Swiss accounts, into which flow hundreds of millions of dollars of Libyan oil money that are then allocated to the Libyan Investment Authority and the Libyan Central Bank.

Financiers in Geneva gossip that, as far back as 17 January, Bengdara established that four new names would be added as signatories on three crucial accounts controlling much of the money. The signatories were Colonel Muammar Gaddafi; his son Khamis, who heads Libya's infamous martyrs' battalion; the Libyan leader's daughter Aisha; and his son Saif al-Islam.

Where Libya's petro-dollars may have been channelled in the weeks since tensions first erupted across the Arab world is hard to say. But those who know him would be surprised if Saif did not hold the answers.

The westernised 38-year-old, who studied at the London School of Economics and enjoys close friendships with senior British politicians and financiers, has become the focal point of the conflict now threatening to rip Libya apart.

Whereas Gaddafi senior has always been seen in the west as a dictator – albeit one brought back into the fold – Saif, a trained architect who established a medical charity and was considered his father's heir apparent, held out the promise of a new dawn.


As far back as 2002, Saif told an interviewer that Libya needed democracy. "It's policy number one for us. First thing democracy, second thing democracy, third thing democracy," Saif said, using a rhetorical technique he was to repeat last week to far more sinister effect. >>> Jamie Doward | Saturday, February 26, 2011

Will Gaddafi's Son Betray Him? British Spies Claim Saif Has Approached Them for Talks
MAIL ONLINE: They sent a stark message Saif can play no role in Libya's future

Gaddafi's son Saif has made ‘repeated’ attempts to reach out to British and Italian intelligence officers, it was claimed yesterday.

The moves have raised hopes he is considering betraying his father.

British officials and MI6 officers say they have held ‘several’ conversations with close allies of Gaddafi’s heir over the past three weeks – and have indicated they are prepared to offer the family an exit route.

They sent the stark message that Saif can play no role in the future of Libya.

But they also indicated that Saif would be allowed to land in Britain if he were to repeat the defection of Libyan foreign minister Musa Kusa, who took a private plane from Tunisia to Farnborough airfield on Wednesday night.

That is likely to provoke widespread revulsion. But senior Libyans admit Saif’s alleged attempts to talk are part of a wider bid by those around Gaddafi to devise an exit strategy. Continue reading and comment » | Tim Shipman | Saturday, April 02, 2011

Related »

Sex-obsessed Saif Beat Me and Took Drugs, Says Gaddafi's Son's Stripper Ex-wife

MAIL ONLINE: • Nadia hoped for family but he wanted 'lovers and orgies' • She embraced Islam but wasn't treated as mistress of house • Claims he put her in a coma by throwing her from window during row

A woman claiming to be the ex-wife of Colonel Gaddafi's captured son Saif al-Islam has emerged in Ukraine with extraordinary stories alleging domestic violence and womanising.

Nadia, a blue-eyed brunette claims to have met him when she worked as a stripper in a top Moscow nightclub, and says she is currently in hiding, fearing for her life.

She claimed that as she prepared for marriage to Saif, she had to fly to Paris to have an operation to 'restore' her virginity.'

'The doctor proved my innocence in the presence of Saif's aunt. Then I embraced Islam,' she added.

'I tried to have a normal family, but Saif wanted to live as a single man with lovers and orgies,' she said in a Ukrainian newspaper interview.

While there is no proof of her claim of have married and divorced Saif after two years, her claim appears to be taken seriously in Russia and Ukraine.

If she is who she says, she could be a key witness at his trial whether it is in Libya or under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

One aspect of his trial is likely to be his alleged friendship with a number of prominent British figures, including Prince Andrew, Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson. Read on and comment » | Will Stewart | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Gaddafi the Younger Looks to Consign Libya's Pariah Status to the Past
THE GUARDIAN: Saif Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader, has engaged a New York PR firm to present the face of a modern reforming state

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi addresses a seminar at LSE this week. Photograph: The Guardian
It looked, for a while, just like the bad old days: a handful of angry demonstrators on one side of a London street, shouting "Gaddafi is a murderer" and waving placards as a larger group of men on the other pavement lobbed back Arabic insults over the heads of the watching policemen. But the past was swiftly banished when Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, began to speak from the podium in a university lecture hall packed with businessmen, diplomats and students.

Saif, 37, is the face of modern, reforming Libya, emerging from its long years as a pariah state to become a dazzling mecca for western investment, with a reinvigorated energy industry, billions of dollars in cash reserves, a re-opened US embassy, and even plans for mass tourism.

Gaddafi junior has no formal position in the Jamihiriya – the "state of the masses" – but he is an energetic champion of change who has a finger in most pies in Libya, as well as jet-setting friends such as Britain's Lord Mandelson. It is widely assumed that he will one day succeed his father, although he insists he is a democrat for whom dynastic rule ended with the 1969 revolution.

Saif got all the difficult old issues out of the way at the start of his speech at the London School of Economics this week; a rare public appearance. He surveyed Libya's decision to dismantle its programme to develop nuclear and chemical weapons, the lifting of UN sanctions, the settlement of claims relating to the Lockerbie bombing and the end of a long row with Bulgaria over medics who were jailed for allegedly infecting children with the Aids virus.

A predictable question about Abdel-Basset al-Megrahi, the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber who was freed from his Scottish prison and allowed to go home to die last summer, produced a response so terse it was almost non-existent: Saif is evidently well-advised by his New York PR company.

The trick is to focus on the country's new-found respectability and its future prospects. >>> Ian Black, Middle East editor | Friday, May 28, 2010

Related articles here, here and here

Libyen: Das Comeback des Saif Al Islam Gaddafi | Doku HD | ARTE

Sep 12, 2023 | Mit diesem Szenario hätten nur die wenigsten gerechnet: Wieder ein Gaddafi, der um die Macht kämpft. Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, der zweite Sohn des 2011 getöteten libyschen Diktators Muammar al-Gaddafi, kandidiert bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen seines Landes. Aussagen von Verwandten und politischen Akteuren zeichnen das Porträt eines unberechenbaren und wild entschlossenen Mannes.

Die Bewerbung für die Präsidentschaftswahlen von Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi stellt für Libyen eine große Herausforderung dar. Der zweite Sohn des libyschen Diktators Muammar al-Gaddafi wurde in Libyen mehrfach verurteilt und wird vom Internationalen Strafgerichtshof wegen Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit verfolgt. Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi hat einen einzigartigen Werdegang: In seinem ersten Leben wächst er in einem Clan auf, der zahlreiche Verschwörungen wittert. Er führt in Europa ein Playboy-Dasein und stellt sich der Welt als Reformer dar.

Im zweiten Leben, das mit der libyschen Revolution 2011 beginnt, steht er für die Unterdrückung, die vom Regime seines Vaters ausgeht. Er wird von Anti-Gaddafi-Milizen gefangen genommen. Ihm wird der Prozess gemacht, an dem er nur per Videoschalte teilnehmen darf. Sein Schicksal treibt das libysche Volk um, allerlei Gerüchte kursieren, sein Leben ist bedroht.

Es heißt, er sei ein verrückter, kranker Mystiker, der sich in die Wüste abgesetzt habe. Was bringt ihn dazu, sich trotz Morddrohungen um das Präsidentenamt zu bewerben? Was weiß er über die geheimen Machenschaften des Regimes seines Vaters? Welche Chancen hat er, an die Macht zu kommen?

Sein bewegtes Leben spiegelt das aktuelle Chaos in Libyen wider: Das Land ist gespalten, es gibt eine Regierung im Osten und eine im Westen, rivalisierende Milizen ringen um die Macht, ausländische Staaten nehmen Einfluss auf den Konflikt. Mit Aussagen von Verwandten und politischen Akteuren zeichnet ARTE ein Porträt von Saif al-Islam – eines unberechenbaren und wild entschlossen wirkenden Überlebenden, der sich seinen Weg zu bahnen sucht.

Dokumentation (Frankreich, 2023, 52 Min)
Verfügbar bis zum 18/12/2023


Ce film est également disponible en français. Pour le regarder, cliquez ici s'il vous plaît. – Mark

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Now Scared, Alone and Pondering His Fate

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, held in a secret location by the men of Zintan who his family fought, must wonder if he will get a fair trial - and then execution.

There are no books, and no television. More importantly perhaps, for a partygoer used to shooting weekends at country houses and birthday celebrations, there is no company.

In an anonymous concrete house, in the back streets of the mountain stronghold of Zintan, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi sits alone, with no access yet to a lawyer, friends, or even the four men captured with him.

"For sure, he is just sitting there, thinking about his fate," Osama Jueili, the head of the Zintan Brigade and the man responsible for Saif al-Islam's security, told The Sunday Telegraph.

He does have 20 brigade men on permanent station to guard him. It is doubtful they have much in common with the man who pursued the bright lights of Europe in white tie and tails and once thought he was destined to rule over them.

The capture of the late dictator's son was a happy moment for Libya. A clean operation, it was performed without the bloodlust attendant on his father, Muammar, and brother, Mutassim.

Yet unlike their deaths, Saif al-Islam's fate will linger in the international consciousness for months as he is brought to trial and, most likely, convicted and hanged. Endless questions will be raised – not least by his own lawyers – about his character, his relationship to his father, and his close contacts with politicians and businessmen like Tony Blair, and fellow partygoers Peter Mandelson, Nathaniel Rothschild and Oleg Deripaska.

The process will be a test too of the stability of the new Libya, and of whether a country held in thrall to the whim of one man can unite to the difficult cause of building peaceful, prosperous institutions. » | Richard Spencer, Zintan | Sunday, November 27, 2011

Libyan Army Calls for Benghazi to Surrender as Saif Gaddafi Says Town Will Fall within 48 Hours
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Libyan army has told people in Benghazi to lay down their arms as its troops advanced closer to the rebel stronghold for what could be the decisive battle in the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, speaking to French-based TV channel Euronews, said his troops were near Benghazi and "everything will be over in 48 hours".

The town of Ajbadiyah, 150 km (90 miles) south of Benghazi on the Gulf of Sirte, was firmly in government hands after most of its rebel defenders retreated under fire from a withering artillery barrage on Tuesday. Those who stayed had now handed over their guns, a rebel officer said.

In Benghazi, seat of the insurgents' provisional national council, the mood was a mixture of defiance and nervousness, with some citizens predicting a bloodbath and others confident the rebels would still snatch victory against the government offensive.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi have retaken a string of coastal towns in the past 11 days, reversing gains made by the rebel army early in the uprising against his 41-year-rule of the North African country. Important oil industry facilities are now mostly back under government control.

An armed forces statement read on state television described the offensive as a humanitarian operation to save the people of "beloved Benhgazi" and said troops would not take revenge on them if they surrendered.

"Advise your duped sons to hand over their weapons to the armed forces or the People's Leadership and they will be covered by an amnesty requested by the Commander (Gaddafi), which will be valid for any person who hands over his weapon to the armed forces and refrains from resistance and subversion," it said.

Benghazi residents said they had found leaflets scatttered in the streets also telling them they would not be punished if they gave up the fight. » | Wednesday, March 16, 2011

EXCLUSIVE – Gaddafi to Sarkozy: “Give Us Back Our Money”
EURONEWS: ‘That clown Sarkozy’: see the exclusive euronews interview with Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi the son of Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi. Coming up on euronews today.

With troops loyal to Gaddafi advancing on the rebels in the east of the country, the Libyan leader’s son Saif al-Islam has given a defiant exclusive interview to euronews.
Reporter Riad Muasses asked him what he will do with those who have fought against the regime.

Saif al-Islam said: “Firstly, they’ve left. You know that at the borders there are crowds who want to return to Egypt. And we with our army and the people we say leave a safe passage for these traitors and the militias. And those who contacted America, Britain and France and those who have asked for the British forces and US army to come back, then those and their families are leaving for Egypt.

“We don’t want to kill, we don’t want revenge, but you, traitors, mercenaries, you have committed crimes against the Libyan people: leave, go in peace to Egypt.” (+ video) » | © euronews | Wednesday, March 16, 2011

En français »

Auf deutsch »

عربي »

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Seeking Immunity
ASHARQ ALAWSAT: Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – Independent Arab and Libyan sources have informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi is seeking to convince the coalition forces to accept a deal that is being secretly discussed between Gaddafi delegates and a number of Arab and American parties. This deal would see Gaddafi stepping down from power, only to be replaced by his son Saif al-Islam, with a deadline being put in place for a peaceful transition of power.

A well-informed Libyan source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has held a number of secret meetings with officials in the French and British governments, discussing the idea of his replacing his father for a transitional period of between 2 – 3 years, in return for a comprehensive ceasefire and negotiating with the anti-Gaddafi rebels.

The sources also revealed that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is pushing for assurances that Colonel Gaddafi and his family will be granted immunity from prosecution, and will not be legally punished in any manner.

The sources revealed that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's plan would see him take over control of Libya from his father during a transitional period during which Libya would transform from a revolutionary state to a democratic state that enjoys public and economic freedoms.

The rebel forces are gaining strength and momentum, moving westwards towards the center of Gaddafi's support in Sirte, and the Libyan capital Tripoli. The rebels have recently captured the cities of Ajdabiyah, Brega, and Ras Lanuf, and Gaddafi's aides are racing against time to prevent the inevitable toppling of the regime in the face of the rebels' momentum. » | Khaled Mahmoud | Sunday, March 27, 2011

ICC Confirms that Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Has Been Arrested in Libya
THE HAGUE JUSTICE PORTAL: The International Criminal Court and the Libyan transitional government are currently discussing the transfer of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi to the Hague following his capture by Libyan rebels.

The ICC’s Spokesperson, Fadi El-Abdallah, has confirmed that the ICC and the Libyan transitional government are discussing the surrender of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi (right) following his arrest, but as of yet does not have any clear information on when he would be transferred. Mr El-Abdallah added that this was an important step for international justice in the interest of the victims in Libya. The ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo also confirmed that Saif had been detained by "rebel special forces". He made it clear there is an obligation to surrender Saif to the ICC in accordance with Security Council resolution 1970. » | Monday, August 22, 2011

Gaddafis Sohn Saif will zurück an die Macht

Ein letzter Auftritt in Tripolis. Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi im August 2011, in den Tagen der Entscheidungsschlacht um die libysche Hauptstadt. AFP | Hier: Ein Screenshot

DIE PRESSE: Er residierte in einer Villa in Wien, war ein Freund Jörg Haiders und Kronprinz im libyschen Regime. Nach der Revolution 2011 endete Saif al-Islam in einem Kerker. Jetzt mischt er wieder im politischen Spiel mit.

Es war die entscheidende Schlacht, der Anfang vom Ende der langen Herrschaft des Gaddafi-Clans in Tripolis. Vor fast genau zehn Jahren, im August 2011, stießen Rebellen mit massiver Luftunterstützung der Nato in die libysche Hauptstadt vor. Zugleich starteten Untergrundgruppen in Tripolis einen Aufstand. Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi hatte damals seinen letzten großen Auftritt in der Stadt. „Die Menschen in Libyen stehen hinter uns“, behauptete er, als er im Kampfanzug nahe des Hotels Rixos al-Nasr noch einmal zu seinen Anhängern sprach. Dann stieg der Sohn und auserkorene Nachfolger des Diktators Muammar al-Gaddafi in seinen Geländewagen und brauste in einem Konvoi davon. Die Kameras internationaler Reporter fingen die bizarre Szenerie für die Nachwelt ein. Wenige Tage später war ganz Tripolis in der Hand der Aufständischen. Und Machthaber Muammar al-Gaddafi wurde zwei Monate später von Rebellen gelyncht.

Jetzt plant Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi sein Comeback. Nach einem Jahrzehnt, das von Flucht, Gefangenschaft und Leben im Untergrund geprägt war, will er zurück an die Macht. Und dabei geht er behutsam vor, Schritt für Schritt. Denn auf seinem Weg liegen gewaltige Hindernisse vor ihm. » | Von Wieland Schneider | Freitag, 30. Juli 2021

Um weiterzulesen, muß man abonnieren. Die Angebote der Zeitung finden Sie unten auf der Seite.

Gaddafis Named as International Criminal Court Suspects
THE GUARDIAN: Chief prosecutor requests crimes against humanity arrest warrants for Libyan leader, son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi

Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and his brother-in-law and intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, have been named as suspects for crimes against humanity by the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court in The Hague.

Presenting his request for arrest warrants to the ICC, the chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said the men formed an inner circle who carried out the Libyan leader's orders to crush peaceful protests by ordering attacks with live ammunition and heavy weapons.

"His second eldest son Saif al-Islam is a de facto prime minister and Abdullah Senussi is his right-hand man, the executioner. [My] office documented how the three held meetings to plan and direct the operations," Moreno-Ocampo said. The prosecutor said he had "direct evidence" of the three men committing the crimes.

A panel of three ICC judges will now decide whether to grant the arrest warrants, after which Moreno-Ocampo said it was primarily up to Libyans themselves to enforce them.

However, the naming of Saif al-Islam as a prime suspect in crimes against humanity will alone be enough to cause shock and embarrassment to his prominent and wealthy circle of friends in Europe and the US, and particularly in the UK, where he studied at the London School of Economics and lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb, an exclusive district of London.

"His address book is going to be bulging with significant contacts. The question is going to be how long those contacts stayed in touch and at what point they cut him off," a source familiar with the investigation said. Those questions may be answered in part by a study of Saif al-Islam's mobile telephone records and other communications by the ICC investigators. » | Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Monday, May 16, 2011

Libya: Diplomatic Initiative Opens Up Rift between Gaddafi Sons
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A rift in the Gaddafi family has emerged as two hardline sons of the Libyan leader have dismissed efforts to implement a ceasefire as part of a diplomatic initiative to end the Nato bombing campaign.

Mutassim Gaddafi, the National Security Adviser and Khamis Gaddafi, the commander of elite forces, have confronted supporters of a peace plan that has circulated in diplomatic circles in Tripoli.

Diplomats have said that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, another son, had offered to act as interim president to oversee a transition to a democratic system. The offer would mean Col Muammar Gaddafi's withdrawal from power and the end of the family's tyrannical hold on power.

But one family aide said there had been arguments over Saif's initiative, which is supported by Saadi, another brother with power in the armed forces. He said: "It is not in the military interest of the government to have a ceasefire now. While we have the momentum, Mutassim wants to keep going." The official said that the brothers had argued over a ceasefire.

While Saif believes that talks would be impossible without a ceasefire, Mutassim wants to ensure the regime cannot be beaten. He is reported to have said: "People get sick of dying, we have to keep fighting until we've beaten the opposition."

Mutassim and Saif have been rivals for almost a decade. A US diplomatic cable said that Saif's overseas reputation – he cultivated British and US leaders while living in London as a PhD student – had made Mutassim jealous.

All four brothers are known to enjoy glamorous social events. The singer Beyoncé performed for Mutassim in the Caribbean at the New Year. » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Monday, April 04, 2011

Libya: Saif al-Islam and Mohammed Gaddafi, the Dictator's Sons, Escape Capture

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saif al-Islam, Colonel Gaddafi's heir apparent, emerged defiant at his father's Tripoli compound last night, hours after reports of his arrest by rebel forces.

A defiant Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who acted as de-facto prime minister to his father, appeared early this morning in a carpark at his father's Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli before taking reporters on a tour of the parts of the capital still controlled by the regime.

"Tripoli is under our control. Everyone should rest assured. All is well in Tripoli," he boasted as gunfire rattled around the port city.

Yesterday the rebels announced Saif was under arrest and negotiations were underway to hand him to the International Criminal Court.

His older brother, Mohammed Gaddafi, was also reported to have broken free of house arrest last night.

"You have seen how the Libyan people rose up," Saif al-Islam said, referring to the loyalists' fierce fighting with rebel forces. » | Matthew Holehouse | Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Related here and here