By: Jackson Mukuka Nawa
Said al-Islam Gaddafi, born June 25, 1972, is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He was a part of his father’s inner circle, performing public relations and diplomatic roles on his behalf.
He publicly turned down his father’s offer of the country’s second highest post and held no official government position. According to American State Department officials in Tripoli, during his father’s reign, he was the second most widely recognized person in Libya, being at times the “de facto” Prime Minister, and was mentioned as a possible successor, though he rejected this.
An arrest warrant was issued for him on 27 June 2011 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for charges of crimes against humanity against the Libyan people, for killing and persecuting civilians, under Articles 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(h) of the Rome statute. He denied the charges Gaddafi was captured in southern Libya by the Zintan militia on 19 November 2011, after the end of the Libyan Civil War, and flown by plane to Zintan.
He was sentenced to death on 28 July 2015 by a court in Tripoli for crimes during the civil war, in a widely criticised trial conducted in absentia. He remained in the custody of the de facto independent authorities of Zintan. On 10 June 2017, he was released from prison in Zintan, according to a statement from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion.
Later the same month, his full amnesty was declared by the Tobruk-based government led by Khalifa Haftar. As of December 2019, Gaddafi remained wanted under his ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. On 14 November, he attempted to register as a candidate in the 2021 Libyan presidential election, but was rejected.
Gaddafi stated on 22 March 2018 in Tunis that he would run for president in the next Libyan general election under the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya (PFLL). Ayman Abu Ras, a spokesperson for the party, said that Gaddafi wished to focus on a programme of “reform”, namely reconstruction projects.In a July 2021 interview with thehe New York Times, his first interview with western media in ten years, Gaddafi attacked Libyan politicians for their governance since the 2011 First Libyan Civil War, describing them as having “raped the country”.
Gaddafi hinted that he was running for president. Commenting on his years-long absence from public life, he said “You need to come back slowly, slowly. Like a striptease. You need to play with their minds a little.”
The July 2021 New York Times interview included topics related to Saif’s political thinking and past actions. Saif defended his father’s legacy. Saif said of his father’s Green Book; “It was not crazy, it talked about things everybody is now recognizing.” He said that many “ideas gaining popularity in the West, such as frequent public referendums, employee stock-ownership programs and the dangers of boxing and wrestling”, echoed the words of his father’s book.
His interview was given to the New York Times at an opulent two-storey villa inside a gated compound at Zintan. Until the interview, Saif al-Islam had not been seen or heard from since June 2014, when he appeared via video link from Zintan during his trial by the Tripoli court.
On 14 November 2021, Gaddafi confirmed his intention to run for the presidency of Libya, registering his nomination in the southern city of Sebha. On 16 November, it was reported that Libya’s election body had rejected his candidacy. With growing support from the country’s urban population and resistance from authorities, it remains unclear how the war veteran’s will sail through.
