Libyan authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, following his fatal shooting in the north-western town of Zintan.
The country’s public prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday that it had begun inquiries into the incident and deployed forensic experts to the area where Gaddafi was killed. Officials said efforts are ongoing to identify those responsible for the attack.
“The victim died from wounds by gunfire,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding that investigators were seeking to “speak to witnesses and anyone who may be able to shed light on the incident”.
A statement from Gaddafi’s political team alleged that “four masked men” broke into his residence and carried out what it described as a “cowardly and treacherous assassination”. According to the account, Saif al-Islam resisted the attackers in a direct confrontation after they disabled security cameras at the property, an act the team said was a “desperate attempt to conceal traces of their heinous crimes”.
Although he held no official government position, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Libya during his father’s rule, particularly between 2000 and the 2011 uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign and led to his death at the hands of opposition forces.
Following the fall of Tripoli in 2011, Saif al-Islam was captured by a militia in Zintan while attempting to flee to neighbouring Niger. He spent nearly six years in detention before being released in 2017 under an amnesty law, after which he continued to live in Zintan.
Libya has remained politically fragmented since the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime, with armed groups wielding significant influence in different parts of the country. As investigations into the high-profile death continue, authorities are yet to disclose possible motives for the killing.
