Son of Gaddafi freed from Libyan jail: Ministry

Gulf Today Report

The 48-year-old Saadi Gaddafi, a son of Libya's late dictator Moammer Gaddafi who was overthrown and killed in a 2011 uprising, has been freed from jail, authorities in Libya said.

Saadi, who has been in jail in Tripoli since 2014, left the country immediately for Turkey.

Prime minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said in a tweet early on Monday that Gaddafi had been released in compliance with a previous court order.

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A former professional footballer in Italy, Saadi had been held in a Tripoli prison, accused of crimes committed against protesters and of the 2005 killing of Libyan football coach Bashir Al Rayani.

Saadi Gaddafi (right) stands in the accused cell during his trial at a courthouse in the Libyan capital Tripoli. AFP

Another source, who works at the prosecutor's office, confirmed to the media that Gaddafi had been freed.

"The chief prosecutor asked, several months ago, for the execution of the decision relating to Saadi Gaddafi as soon as all the required conditions had been satisfied," said the source.

Saadi, was known for his playboy lifestyle during his father's dictatorship.

He fled to Niger following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising, but was extradited to Libya in 2014.

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" with an iron grip, though not necessarily a coherent direction.