Gaddafi's son Saif freed by Libyan militia

A Libyan militia says it has freed Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent son of the country’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, after more than five years in captivity.

A statement from the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, a militia which controls Zintan, a mountainous region southwest of the capital Tripoli, said it released Saif al-Islam late on Saturday under an amnesty law passed last year by the eastern-based parliament.

“We have decided to liberate Saif al-Islam Muammar Gaddafi. He is now free and has left the city of Zintan,” the militia said in a statement.

However, it is unclear whether Saif has left Zintan, and his freedom in Libya is partial. While the eastern parliament in Tobruk, to which Zintan is aligned, says he is a free man, Tripoli’s UN-backed government still considers him a war criminal, after a court sentenced him to death, in absentia, in 2015 for crimes during the revolution.

Since Gaddafi's four-decade rule ended in 2011, Libya has struggled to establish basic institutions and rule of law.

If Saif leaves Libya, he may also face arrest on an indictment from the international criminal court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

His British lawyer, Karim Khan QC, said he was unable to confirm or deny reports of Saif’s freedom, but added he was in regular contact with his client, last visiting him in the autumn.

“I met him in Zintan and I’ve been in contact with him in relation to this issue,” he said. “He was in good physical health, I had lunch with him in Zintan and sat for several hours.”

The most prominent of Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Islam, 44, was captured in Zintan in November 2011 as he was fleeing to neighbouring Niger after opposition fighters seized Tripoli.

He was sentenced to death in July 2015 by a court in Tripoli in a mass trial of former Gaddafi government officials.