Saif al-Islam, Son of Muammar Gaddafi, Released

A militia group in Libya announced that Saif al-Islam, the son of the ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who had been in their custody since 2011, has been released. According to a report on Saturday (June 20) by Agence France-Presse, the group made the announcement on Facebook. The militants of the 'Abu Bakr al-Siddiq' group, which previously operated among the rebels against Gaddafi, stated that Saif al-Islam was freed on Friday evening, corresponding to the fourteenth day of Ramadan. Saif al-Islam, who had been imprisoned by this militia in the city of Zintan, was released following a general amnesty approved by a parliament in eastern Libya. The group's statement indicated that they decided to free this son of Gaddafi and that he could leave the city of Zintan. Libya currently has parallel governments, and political rivalry and warfare among militia groups have kept the country in a state of chaos following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi after 40 years of dictatorship. After Saif al-Islam's arrest, there was a disagreement among political rivals and militias regarding his right to trial. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. The 44-year-old son of the former dictator was sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli in 2015. He is the second of Gaddafi's eight children, is fluent in English, and although he never held an official position, he was considered Gaddafi's envoy in the West and an architect of reforms in the country. Three of Gaddafi's seven sons were killed during the Libyan revolution. Saadi, one of his sons who is still alive, is on trial in Libya for involvement in the murder of Libya's former national coach. Safia, the widow of the ousted dictator, and three of his other children initially sought refuge in Algeria and later in Oman.