Gadhafi son released after 6 years in Libyan prison

CAIRO – 11 June 2017: The son of former Libyan ruler Muammar Gadhafi has been released after six years in prison, the Zintan-based Special Operations Force in Libya announced Saturday.

Seif al-Islam, son of the late deposed Libyan dictator, benefited from a general amnesty law issued by the parliament in 2015 but remained imprisoned in Zintan because the International Criminal Court still pursued him, the statement added.

Islam left Zintan province for the town of Ubari in southern Libya, political analyst and former spokesman for the Libyan interim government Abdelhakim Maatouk told Egypt Today.

Islam is expected to deliver a recorded speech to the Libyan people Saturday night.

Islam has been a controversial figure in Libya since the revolution which erupted against his father’s rule in 2011. He was arrested by Zintan forces in November 2011 near Ubari while he was trying to flee the country.

The Appeals Court in Tripoli sentenced him to death on charges of murdering protestors and abuse of power but the Zintan militia refused to hand him over.

Additional reporting by Ahmed Gomaa.