Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libyan dictator, killed

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi, was killed on Tuesday, his political office has said.

Saif al-Islam was killed in a "treacherous and cowardly" act, in which four masked men stormed his residence in the western Libyan city of Zintan, the office said.

His lawyer Khaled al-Zaidi confirmed to dpa that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was "assassinated at his home."

The al-Arabiya news channel reported that the 53-year-old was shot dead in the garden of his residence in Zintan, citing sources close to the Gaddafi family.

There was speculation that militias close to the Tripoli-based government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh could be behind the killing. A militia linked to the Defence Ministry in Tripoli rejected the allegations as false, denying any involvement.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is said to have been preparing a return to political life, a move that could have posed a challenge to Dbeibeh and his allies.

In a statement, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's political office called on the Libyan judiciary, the international community, the United Nations and human rights organizations to open an independent and transparent local and international investigation into the killing.

Saif al-Islam was the second-eldest son of the long-time Libyan leader, who ruled the North African country for more than four decades.

Before his father's overthrow and death in 2011, al-Islam led a reform project aimed at modernizing the country politically and bringing it closer to the West. Many of these efforts were soon reversed in order not to upset the balance of power in his father's government.

Gaddafi's death followed months of mass protests in 2011. Saif al-Islam supported the brutal crackdown of the uprising.

While attempting to flee to Niger, he was captured by a militia and imprisoned in Zintan. According to his own account, he spent several years there with little contact with the outside world.

The International Criminal Court has been seeking Saif al-Islam's extradition since 2014 in order to try him for crimes against humanity during the uprisings in Libya.

In 2015, he was sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Libya's capital, Tripoli. The rulers in Zintan neither transferred him to Tripoli nor extradited him.

In 2021, he reappeared unexpectedly after a long absence and submitted his candidacy for the planned presidential election in Libya.

The election never took place due to a conflict over the constitutional basis and the eligible candidates. The country is now effectively divided between two hostile governments in the east and west.