Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam at large in Libya after being released from death row, lawyer says

7 JULY 2016 • 11:03AM The Telegraph

Muammar Gaddafi's British-educated son was released from death row in Libya earlier this year, his lawyer said, and now appears to be at large even though he faces charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the ousted dictator's most prominent son, was sentenced to die by firing squad last year after being found guilty of war crimes and was thought to be in prison in the western city of Zintan.

His lawyer, Karim Khan QC, said however that Gaddafi had been released in April under an amnesty law and was now free in Libya.

"It has been confirmed and is now public that he was given his liberty on April 12," Mr Khan told France 24. "He is well and safe and he's in Libya."

There was no independent confirmation of Mr Khan's claims from Libya's UN-backed government but unverified documents appeared to show that the previous justice minister ordered him to be released in April.

If confirmed that Gaddafi has been freed, it would be a remarkable turnaround for the most Western-oriented of Col Gaddafi's eight children.

The 44-year-old took a PhD at the London School of Economics was well known in British society, where he mingled with Lord Mandelson, the architect Norman Foster and other notables.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/07/gaddafis-son-saif-al-islam-released-from-death-row-in-libya/

Thursday 7 July 2016 08.26 EDT Last modified on Thursday 7 July 2016 17.00 EDT The guardian

Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam has been released from custody after his death sentence was quashed, his British lawyer has claimed
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Karim Khan QC said he was now petitioning the international criminal court to drop its charges against Saif, which would allow him to travel abroad without facing arrest.

Saif, 44, the most prominent of Gaddafi’s eight children, was sentenced to death by a Tripoli court last July in a mass trial of former regime officials.

Khan said the sentence had been quashed by Libya’s new UN-backed government this year, and Saif was now at an undisclosed location after being released from house arrest in the mountain town of Zintan where he had been held for five years.

“He’s been released from Zintan detention. The release, I’m told, was on 12 April – there was an order from the central government,” said Khan. “He’s in Libya, he’s in good health, he’s safe and he’s well.”

The claim could not be independently verified, and neither the UN-backed government in Tripoli or Zintan authorities has yet commented on the report, while some disputed it.

Atlantic Council analyst Mohammed Eljarh tweeted: “#Zintan sources confirm Saif still in #Zintan and has not been released.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/07/gaddafi-son-saif-al-islam-freed-after-death-sentence-quashed