Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, known as the most prominent son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed, reports said on Tuesday, quoting sources close to the family, his lawyer Khaled el-Zaydi and Libyan media.
The office of Libya’s attorney general on Wednesday said investigators and forensic doctors examined the body of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi on Tuesday and determined that he died from gunshot injuries, Reuters reported.
Muammar Gaddafi, the former de facto leader of Libya, was killed in October 2011 in a NATO-backed uprising in his hometown of Sirte, marking the end of his 42-year rule and the First Libyan Civil War.
The office of Libya’s attorney general said that it was working to identify suspects and take appropriate steps to bring a criminal case.
Who was Saif al-Islam?
Born in 1972, Saif al-Islam rose to be known as the most influential and feared figure in the country after his father Gaddafi, who ruled Libya from 1969.
Saif al-Islam is credited for having played a key role in thawing of ties of Libya with the West from 2000 until the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
While Saif al-Islam is well-known in the north African country, especially for his role in shaping policy before 2011, the year his father was killed, his public profile has receded in recent years.
In 2015, a Libyan court passed a death sentence in absentia on Saif al-Islam for suppressing peaceful protests during the country’s 2011 revolution that ended his father’s rule.
He has also been provisionally charged by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, a case his lawyers failed to dismiss, according to the Reuters report.
In 2021, Saif al-Islam nominated himself as a presidential candidate for a December vote that eventually collapsed amid a political deadlock.
