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Saadi Gaddafi extradited by Niger to Libya
Saadi Gaddafi. PHOTO/File
Niger on Thursday extradited to Libya one of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, Saadi, who fled as his father’s regime crumbled in 2011 and who was under house arrest in the West African nation ever since, the government in Tripoli said.
The authorities said Saadi Gaddafi, one of the deposed Libyan leader’s 8 children, will be treated “in accordance with international law.”
A Libyan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Saadi Gaddafi arrived in the early hours on Thursday at the Tripoli airport and was transferred to a prison in the capital.
Shortly after the news broke, photographs circulated on social media showing Saadi Gaddafi in a blue prison uniform while Libyan guards were shaving his hair and beard.
Saadi Gaddafi was known for his love of professional soccer and a playboy lifestyle. His brief career in Italian football ended after a failed drug test. He headed Libya’s Soccer Federation and was also the former head of the country’s special forces.
Like most of Gaddafi loyalists and ex-regime officials, Saadi Gaddafi is wanted for his role in curbing protests against his father’s rule and the killing of protesters.
But unlike his brother, Saif Al-Islam, who was groomed to be Gaddafi’s successor, Saadi is not sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Saif Al-Islam is held by a militia in the western Libyan town of Zintan, which refuses to hand him over to the central government for trial.
