Niger hands Qaddafi son Saadi over to Libya

TRIPOLI // Niger has turned a son of the late dictator Muammar Qaddafi over to Libyan authorities, the Tripoli government said Thursday, as a government-allied militia released pictures of him in captivity.

The government said Saadi Qaddafi, who fled across the Sahara desert to Niger during the 2011 uprising that saw rebels capture and kill his father, ending his four-decade dictatorship, was in Libyan custody.

The Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade, a militia made up of former rebels, released pictures on Facebook of Saadi in a blue jumpsuit getting his head shaved.

The Libyan government said he would be held in accordance with “international standards regarding the treatment of prisoners”.

Saadi Qaddafi was best known as the head of Libya’s football federation and a player who paid his way into Italy’s top division.

Interpol had issued a “Red Notice” for him, for “allegedly misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation”.

Libya had repeatedly called for the extradition of Saadi from Niger, which had granted him asylum since September 2011 on “humanitarian” grounds, saying it had insufficient guarantees Libya’s new rulers would give him a fair trial.

Three of Qaddafi’s sons were killed in the 2011 uprising, including Mutassim, who was killed by rebels on the same day as his father.

Several key members of the clan have survived however, including Qaddafi’s erstwhile heir apparent Saif Al Islam, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court but detained by a militia in Libya.

Former Libyan Olympic Committee chief Muhammad and Hannibal, who made headlines with his scandal-packed European holidays, are believed to be in Algeria, as is the fallen tyrant’s daughter Aisha.

Around 30 senior regime officials are believed to have crossed into Niger at the same time as Saadi but the authorities in Niamey have not said how many remain in the country.

* Agence France-Presse