Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is Alive and Free, Libya to Declare Full Liberation, Leaders Vow Probe to Gaddafi Death

Sunday, 23 October 2011

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is Alive and Free, Libya to Declare Full Liberation, Leaders Vow Probe to Gaddafi Death

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is alive and free

The fall of the Gaddafi clan: Colonel Gaddafi, left, and, it is thought, his son Mutassim, centre, were both killed on the attack on Sirte today. Saif al-Islam, his heir, right, is thought to have been captured

Saif al-Islam has been captured 'alive and uninjured' Libyan officials claimed.

Saif al-Islam, one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has vowed to take revenge for his father's death. Gaddafi was killed Thursday by the National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters near his hometown of Sirte.

Al-Islam appeared on the Syria-based Alrai TV channel on Saturday night with an appeal to his supporters, saying he was alive and staying in Libya and intended to fight to the bitter end against the rebels.

"We are continuing resistance. I am in Libya, I am alive and free and willing to fight to the end and take revenge," the TV channel loyal to the Gaddafi regime quoted him as saying.

A website of Gaddafi's supporters earlier posted a statement that Seif al-Islam had been named an heir to the Libyan dictator and charged with the command of forces fighting the rebels.

Libya to Declare Full Liberation, Leaders Vow Probe to Gaddafi Death
Local Editor

Mutstafa Abdul Jalil, the NTC Head

Libyan news regime is to declare the liberation of whole Libya, following the death of Muammar Gaddafi, paving the way for an interim government and then a free vote after 42 years of autocratic rule.

National Transitional Council (NTC) officials said the declaration would be made in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the revolution that saw Tripoli overrun in August.

The NTC had promised to proclaim the country's liberation once Sirte, Gaddafi’s home twon and last bastions, had fallen.

Under the NTC's roadmap, an interim government would be formed within one month of the declaration, followed within eight months by elections for a constitutional assembly -- the first democratic vote in Libya since Gaddafi seized power in a coup 42 years ago.
Parliamentary and presidential elections would be held within a year.

GADDAFI’S KILLING CONTROVERSY

Meanwhile, the controversy o Gaddafi’s death was still raging, as Interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said an investigation was being conducted into the killing after several foreign governments and human rights watchdogs posed questions.

Gaddafi's body in Misrata

"We are dealing with the subject with transparency," Abdel Jalil told Al-Jazeera television.

Mobile phone videos showed Gaddafi, injured in his legs and shoulders, captured by NTC.
However, a second footage showed the strongman killed.
NTC leaders said he was shot in the head when he was caught "in crossfire" between his supporters and new regime fighters soon after his capture.

Interim Prime Minister Mahmud Jibril told the BBC he preferred Gaddafi had survived.
"To be honest with you at the personal level I wish he was alive. I want to know why he did this to the Libyan people," he said. "I wish I were his prosecutor in his trial."

Jibril added that it would be "absolutely OK" to carry out a full investigation under international supervision into the killing, as long as Islamic burial rules were respected.
Gaddafi’s body has been stored in a vegetable market freezer in the eastern city of Misrata, drawing large crowds wanting to view the remains of the despot who ruled Libya with an iron fist for decades.