Moammar Gaddafi's Son, Assassinated In Libya, Had Pet Tiger, And A PhD

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, was assassinated in Libya on Tuesday, according to Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya.

The 53-year-old was allegedly shot dead in the garden of his residence in the northwestern city of Zintan. Four attackers allegedly barged into his home, disabled security cameras, and carried out the killing, Libya's official news agency reported.

His French lawyer told AFP he could not confirm who was behind the killing.

Saif Gaddafi lived in Zintan for the past decade. Once seen as his father's heir, he was wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the 2011 NATO-backed civil uprising against his father, Moammar Gaddafi.

In 2021, he announced plans to run for president, but Libya's elections were indefinitely postponed.

Who Was Saif al-Islam Gaddafi?

• Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was born in 1972 and was the second son of Libya's longtime ruler, Moammar Gaddafi, who governed the country from 1969 until he was killed by a mob in broad daylight in 2011.
• He reportedly graduated from Tripoli's Al Fateh University in 1994 with a degree in engineering. After being denied student visas by several countries, including France and Canada, he earned an MBA from the Imadec business school in Vienna.
• He acted as a mediator on Libya's behalf in high-profile, sensitive diplomatic missions and led negotiations with Western countries over the country's decision to give up weapons of mass destruction. In 1988, he also negotiated compensation for the families of those killed in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.
• During the late 1990s and 2000s, he became a central figure in his father's inner circle, and despite holding no formal government post, he was widely regarded as Libya's de facto prime minister and second-most-powerful figure from 2000 to 2011.
• He headed the Gaddafi family's charitable foundation and was widely believed, though he denied it, to have influence over the Libyan Investment Authority, giving him access to vast financial resources.
• In 2008, he was awarded a PhD by the London School of Economics and publicly advocated political reform.
• He owned tigers, hunted with falcons, and mingled with British high society during trips to London.
• When Libyans protested against his father during the Arab Spring in 2011, he was a hardline defender of the regime and vowed to fight rebel forces to the end. He is accused by the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity for allegedly helping plan and direct the murder and persecution of civilians during the violent suppression of anti-government protests in Libya in February 2011.
• When the 2011 rebellion broke out against his father, he immediately supported his family and tribe and acted harshly against the rebels. He said, "We fight here in Libya, we die here in Libya," warning that blood would be shed and the government would fight everyone. On TV, he added, "All of Libya will be destroyed. It will take 40 years to agree on how to run this country, because today everyone wants to be president or emir, and everyone wants to run the country," as per Reuters.
• After months on the run, he was captured in southern Libya on 19 November 2011, weeks after the elder Gaddafi was killed by rebel forces in Sirte. Following his capture, he was held by local militias in Zintan, where he remained for several years and was seen with visible injuries, including missing fingers.
• In 2014, he was put on trial in Tripoli for crimes linked to the 2011 uprising. In July 2015, a Libyan court sentenced him to death by firing squad in absentia. In 2017, after nearly six years in captivity, he was released under an amnesty law issued by Libya's eastern-based authorities.