Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed, according to sources close to his family, his lawyer Khaled al-Zaydi and local Libyan media.
Libya’s attorney general said on Wednesday that forensic teams examined the body on Tuesday and concluded that Saif al-Islam died from gunshot wounds. Investigators are working to identify those responsible and prepare a criminal case, the statement added.
Once a central figure in Libya’s political landscape, Saif al-Islam played a key role in shaping policy before the 2011 uprising that toppled his father. His public presence, however, declined sharply in the years that followed.
In 2015, a Libyan court sentenced him to death in absentia over charges linked to the violent suppression of protests during the revolution. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of crimes against humanity.
Saif al-Islam briefly returned to the spotlight in 2021 when he registered as a candidate in Libya’s planned presidential election, which was later postponed amid ongoing political divisions.
