Daily Times

Saadi Qaddafi, a son of Libya’s late dictator Moamer Qaddafi who was overthrown and killed in a 2011 uprising, has been freed from jail, a justice ministry source confirmed to AFP Sunday. “SaadiMoamer Qaddafi has been freed from prison,” following a court ruling several years ago, the source said-without saying whether he was still in the country. Several media reports on Sunday suggested Qaddafi had already taken a flight to Turkey. Another source, who works at the prosecutor’s office, confirmed to AFP that Qaddafi had been freed. “The chief prosecutor asked, several months ago, for the execution of the decision relating to Saadi Qaddafi as soon as all the required conditions had been satisfied,” said the source. Qaddafi was free to stay or leave, the source added. Saadi, 47, 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. 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. 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.